IRAQ: Al Qaeda marks Thanksgiving with bloodshed

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Al Qaeda in Iraq appears to remain as defiant as ever, despite indications that multinational forces in the country are making significant inroads into defeating the insurgents.

On Thursday, they brazenly attacked Iraqi Army troops in south Baghdad, captured a couple of Army vehicles, and then used them to attack armed civilians, known as Concerned Citizens, who at one time were Al Qaeda allies.

Eyewitnesses and civilian fighters who took part in the fighting described the scene as an all-out battle that lasted about three hours. As is typical, the exact number of casualties was unclear. Figures from Iraqi security forces and civilian fighters put the number of dead at at least two dozen. And while one local leader said his supporters killed 15 to 20 suspected Al Qaeda fighters, the U.S. military put the number of dead insurgents at two.

Local leaders believe dozens of Al Qaeda fighters escaped, which they appear to have a knack for doing.

Suspected Shiite militiamen are believed to be behind an attack on the Green Zone that occured later on Thursday. Iraqi officials said some 10 mortar rounds were fired into the area. The attack came as a surprise to many, because this area of central Baghdad where the U.S. Embassy and many Iraqi government offices are located, has been remarkably calm for the past several weeks.

And the aggression was unleashed on Thanksgiving Day.

Think Al Qaeda and the Shiite militants were trying to make a point?

— Ann M. Simmons in Baghdad