WAR DEVELOPMENTS

IRAQ

> An al-Qaida in Iraq leader blamed in the 2004 abduction and murder of an Army reservist and other deadly attacks was killed Nov. 11 in an American raid in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday. Hajji Hammadi was accused in the abduction and killing of Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, a 20-year-old private first class at the time who was seized when his fuel convoy was attacked by insurgents. Maupin’s remains were found in March on the outskirts of Baghdad.

> Opposition lawmakers shouted and pounded their desks in protest Thursday in a second day of emotional debate in parliament over a proposed agreement with the U.S. that would allow U.S. forces to stay in Iraq for three more years. Parliament managed to complete the second reading of the legislation, the last step prior to opening debate before a vote scheduled for Monday. But the disruptions could delay the vote by a day or two.

> Pentagon and State Department officials on Thursday notified companies that provide contract employees in Iraq —- such as Blackwater Worldwide, Dyncorp International, Triple Canopy and KBR —- that thousands of contractors, both private Americans and non-Iraqi foreigners working in key roles for the United States, will lose immunity and be subject to Iraqi law under the proposed new security deal.

> Baghdad authorities announced a campaign on Thursday to kill hundreds of stray dogs that roam the Iraqi capital in packs, after 13 people died of disease after being attacked by dogs in August.

PAKISTAN

> Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson on Thursday to protest a deep cross-border missile strike Wednesday, calling it a “great provocation.” The strike was the first to target militants far beyond lawless tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.

> Militant leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur warned that his men would launch suicide attacks on foreigners and government targets around the country unless raids such as Wednesday’s missile attack stop. “The Pakistani government is clearly involved in these attacks by American spy planes,” a spokesman for Bahadur said.

> Pakistani troops backed by helicopters killed 17 insurgents Wednesday and Thursday in the Bajur tribal area, also near the Afghan border. Meanwhile, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Bajur where pro-government tribesmen were praying, killing four and wounding four.

AFGHANISTAN

> A BAE Systems defense contractor who provided personal security to Afghan and Iraqi leaders has been charged with killing an Afghan civilian. Documents filed in federal court in Virginia allege Don Ayala of New Orleans helped subdue and arrest civilian Abdul Salam after he tossed a container of flammable liquid at a fellow contractor. After learning the contractor had suffered serious burns, Ayala shot and killed Salam, who was handcuffed, in the Nov. 4 incident 50 miles west of Kandahar.