But Hey, They Had an Election

Forty-one bodies were found in two locations in Iraq:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi officials said Wednesday that 41 bodies - some bullet-riddled, others beheaded - have been found at two sites, and they believe some of the corpses are Iraqi soldiers kidnapped and killed by insurgents. At least 30 American contractors, meanwhile, were wounded by a suicide bombing near a hotel.

In another attack, interim Planning Minister Mahdi al-Hafidh escaped assassination after gunmen opened fire on his convoy in Baghdad. One of his guards was killed and two others were wounded, police said.

A U.S. soldier was killed and another was injured Wednesday when a roadside bomb detonated as they were patrolling in the capital, the military said.

Also, contradicting earlier assertions, the British Defense Ministry is now admitting that a C-130 Hercules that crashed in January was likely brought down by a surface to air missile.

And, in a strange story Atrios posted without comment, Saudi media reports on a US soldier's claim that the events surrounding the capture of Saddam Hussein were fabricated. The soldier, Ex-Sgt.Nadim Abou Rabeh, alleges that Hussein was not in a "spider hole" (he further claims it was a deserted well), but in fact fought back during a firefight that left at least one soldier dead. I'll also withhold judgement on the particulars--but in general I'm don't find claims of fabricated stories courtesy of the US government all that surprising.