*IRAQ: latest news and developments

[Barking_Mad]

updates..

Hundreds of armed men control al-Ramada downtown
Near Falluja, to its east, Iraqi police sources and witnesses said that hundreds of gunmen gathered in the downtown of al-Ramadi and took their positions in the area, while the north west quarters of the city witnessed violent clashes and explosions ...

Iraqi Insurgents Took Control Over Bridge in Baghdad
About 20 Iraqi masked insurgents have taken control over a bridge at one of the biggest highways in western Baghdad. A part of the city has been subjected to a blockade, reported Reuters. Witnesses say that there is a shooting in the region.

Black Watch soldier injured after rocket attack
One soldier has been slightly injured after rockets were fired into the Black Watch's Camp

 

[Barking_Mad]

Update.....

BBC Update
In another development, the chief spokesman for the joint US-Iraqi operation in Falluja, Maj Gen Abdul Qader Mohan, told reporters that Iraqi troops had found houses where hostages had been held and "slaughtered".

Soldier Killed By Insurgent Small Aarms Fire - Confirmed
An insurgent attack on a Task Force Baghdad patrol killed one Soldier in southern Baghdad at about 3:35 p.m. Nov. 9.

Iraqi Press attack Fallujah asault
Several Iraqi newspapers have criticised the government for sanctioning the operation to dislodge rebels in the city of Falluja. Some believe not enough efforts were made to resolve the situation through dialogue. The Baghdad daily Al-Dustur describes the operation as "an attempt at applying US democracy at any price".

"The government and its US ally will storm Falluja and use all military capabilities at their disposal to crush the armed groups," it continues.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Rebels 'stage show of strength'

Iraqi rebels seized the centre of the city of Ramadi and attacked police stations elsewhere as US-led troops continued their Falluja assault.
Armed insurgents in Ramadi moved in when US troops withdrew from the Sunni city, a former rebel stronghold. Iraqi police and national guard stations in Baquba, Kirkuk and Baghdad were also targeted - reports speak of a number of casualties.

The US military said it "associated" the attacks with the Falluja assault. "The enemy is concentrating on Iraqi security forces " to intimidate them, US Lieutenant General Thomas Metz told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

In Ramadi, about 113km (70 miles) west of Baghdad, hundreds of armed insurgents massed to the heart of the city after US troops had withdrawn. Rebels - who have recently been fighting US troops in the city - are reported to have been dancing and shooting into the air in a show of force, the BBC's Caroline Hawley in Iraq reports. "The residents of Ramadi condemn the attack against Falluja and we appeal to the inhabitants of Ramadi to wage jihad [holy war] against the American occupants who want to eradicate Islam," one city resident was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

 

[bigfish]

As Fallujah burns and scores of civilians die at the hands of the BushBlair criminal action, BBC Radio Orwell talks glibly of “mopping up operations”

http://www.williambowles.info/

This morning (10/11/04), BBC Radio Orwell News had the anchorperson almost pleading with Robin Cooke 'but we gotta do something!' about the 'insurgents' followed by a report from Radio Orwell's 'embedded' (censored) journo on the scene who described how sniper fire was met with tank rounds and how the leader of the Marines, “cigar clamped in mouth” strutted around the roof of a captured building, an image straight out of 'Apocalypse Now' as he surveyed the scene of his latest 'success'. Clearly a guy the Radio Orwell reporter, Paul Wood has a 'thing' for as it is the same one who claimed that, “The enemy has got a face. He's called Satan. He lives in Falluja. And we're going to destroy him”.

Satan however, also seems to have taken up residence in the body of a nine-year old boy who bled to death after having been hit by shrapnel (is this what the saying that 'God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform' means? Perhaps the cigar-chomping Colonel Brandl can enlighten us being as he seems to be on such intimate terms with the deity).

One tiny change has taken place as to how the Beeb's Radio Orwell reporting is described as we are now told (once) that “reporting restrictions apply” though not why or under what conditions the restrictions operate (on the BBC's Website it does actually say "military restrictions apply" but apparently radio listeners don't need to be told this). What it won't do is tell its listeners that reporting is actually CENSORED by the military authorities.
...
This then is democracy and the 'open society' in action and judging from the copies of letters sent to BBC Radio Orwell I'm receiving from quite a few of you good folks out there (and not just in the UK either) feel the same way. All power to you and keep on keeping on with bombarding the craven bunch that toe/tow the line for the Goebellian spinmeisters.

And it's not only the lies and deception that rankles, it's the wholesale omission of what's actually happening in Fallujah. So for example, not a single news report on the Beeb today (10/11/04) has actually referred even once to the scale of the civilian casualties. Yet the evidence is there (of course if you're 'embedded' with your pals viewing everything from the aggressor's position, then it's unlikely you'll ever see anything that disturbs the view that the destruction of Fallujah is being "reluctantly" carried out and all the 'insurgents' need do is not resist).
...
Coverage on the BBC's Website from its slew of 'embeds' reiterates the government line ad nauseum

“No-one has accounts of insurgent or civilian dead. It will be difficult to tell them apart.”
Quil Lawrence, 'embed'.

“The offensive has not been without cost. So far ten American troops and two Iraqi soldiers have been killed.”
Jennifer Glasse, 'embed'.

Clearly “costs” don't extend to the Iraqi people caught up in the assault.

“The mopping up operation will be lengthy and will not be easy.

“There is outgoing mortar fire from the company I am with. They are in that famous euphemism “softening up” the target before they go in.”
Paul Wood, 'embed'.

'Mopping up', 'softening up', the euphemisms for murder roll easily off the tongues of these 'embeds'.

Most insidious is the assumption by the BBC's coverage that the entire operation is as Paul Adams (non-embedded) tells us

“…part of a wider effort to set the stage for successful elections at the end of January. But for now Iraq's new leaders are seen by many as coalition puppets, a notion Operation Phantom Fury will not have dispelled.”

So “for now” Iraq's leaders are seen by many (the implication being the majority) as puppets yet the piece fails to mention that these puppets are the ones organising the election next year, so how exactly, will they cease to be puppets?

Most telling is the following observation by the 'embedded' Quil Lawrence who tells us

“…but they could not leave a part of the country totally under the control of insurgents, for reasons of morale…” [2]

So it's for morale that a city of 300,000 people has been destroyed and scores if not hundreds of people murdered. But whose morale? The occupation forces that's who. The state-run media's complicity is staggering. You'll listen in vain to the BBC for even a hint of the reality in Fallujah, ramming home once more what embedded really means: complicity in covering up war crimes and crimes against humanity by the American and British governments. Once more I implore you to bombard the Beeb with letters letting them know what you feel about their propaganda campaign on behalf BushBlair and their criminal gang of murderers!

Write to Paul Wood and let him know what you feel
Email: [email protected]

Write to director of BBC news, Helen Boaden
Email: [email protected]

If you care to share your thoughts with us, please email them me [email protected] . Unless you tell me otherwise, I might publish them. If you do forward copies, please let me know.

 

[Barking_Mad]

According to a reporter inside Fallujah, reporting to Al Jazeerah about half of the mosques in the city have been destroyed.

Almost half of the mosques in the Iraqi town of Falluja have been destroyed, with US warplanes launching air strikes and fierce fighting on the ground continuing. An Iraqi journalist told Aljazeera that US forces on Wednesday resumed attacks on the city, targeting Julan in the north-west to al-Jughaivi in the north-east. Fadil al-Badrani said there are an estimated 120 mosques in the city.

"Almost half of the city's mosques have been destroyed after being targeted by US air and tank strikes," al-Badrani added.

 

[Barking_Mad]

also in the same piece - its to be hoped these guys cant drive tanks.........

A tank platoon that moved along Falluja's main street saw fighters who had just come under mortar fire climb on to rooftops and fire rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and machineguns.

"There are lots of them. We took heavy fire," Gunnery Sergeant Ishmail Castillo told Reuters. "They opened up on my tank. They don't look like they are going to cave in." Castillo said his tank had killed six fighters and that two marines were wounded in fighting. "One of the marines was hit in the head by RPG shrapnel," he said.

"They hit us from one area and then another right afterwards. There is in-depth organisation. There were small-arms attacks all night," he said. Al-Badrani said US forces had taken some casualties. "Two US military tanks have been so far destroyed in Julan neighbourhood, where the most violent clashes are taking place," he said.

"Three US armoured vehicles have been also destroyed in other parts of the city. The clashes are very violent. Fighters have showed up from other neighbourhoods and streets the US forces are unfamiliar with. "US forces entered central Falluja city at around 12:00 (Iraqi local time) but were fiercely attacked by the fighters," al-Badrani said.

"They withdrew from the area after half an hour, heading for their positions in the northern parts of the city," he added. Residents told al-Badrani the crews of two US tanks deserted their vehicles in Julan, leaving them to be seized by fighters.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Channel 4 showing pictures of insurgents who look to have captured about 20 Iraqi soldiers. Pictures not confirmed, but they could be seen with their backs to camera.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Worth reading the whole piece.

Clashes flare across Iraq

In continuing resistance to the US-led interim government in Iraq, six Iraqi national guards have been killed in roadside bombs in Kirkuk, while five civilians died in clashes in Tikrit. In the first incident, the guardsmen died when two roadside bombs exploded minutes apart targeting two patrols in northern Iraq on Wednesday morning, an Iraqi official said.

"A roadside bomb exploded at 7.45 am (0445 GMT) in the path of a national guard patrol in Tuz (60km north of Kirkuk)," said national guard general, Anwar Muhammad. Two of the guardsmen were wounded. Also on Wednesday, violent clashes erupted between tens of armed men and Iraqi and US forces on the highway near al-Dura area south of Baghdad, Aljazeera has learned.

Civilians have been injured as a result of the clashes and several civilian cars left burning.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Channel 4 reporting a UK pilot was seriously injured when his helicopter came under small arms attack.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Car Bomb Targeting Iraqi Police Kills 10

A car bomb targeting police exploded on a crowded Baghdad street Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others, police said. Police officer Qahtan Jumaygh said the 8 p.m. blast in the eastern Zaytouna neighborhood was aimed at police patrol cars, but did not injure any policemen. The explosion also injured 15 other people and damaged a dozen cars in the area.

The blast went off on Al-Rubaei Street when it was most crowded, about 20 yards from a police checkpoint, said one witness, Mohammed Abdullah, who owns an Internet cafe on the street. Abdullah said he saw "at least 10 civilians killed, including a woman, and five wounded" but that none of the police were hurt."I just heard a big boom and felt that the ceiling was falling down."

 

[Barking_Mad]

Kidnappers free three truckers

IRAQI kidnappers have freed three Jordanian truck drivers they abducted last week on a major highway close to the rebel stronghold of Fallujah, officials and relatives said today. They told Reuters the three truckers were released yesterday after being held for a week by militants, and arrived home early today....A fourth Jordanian trucker, who was in a convoy with the three abducted drivers, was killed during their kidnapping, officials said. They say they were not aware of any other Jordanian nationals still being held captive.

 

[Barking_Mad]

List of troops killed since the 8th November

Interesting to note that of the 23 US troops killed so far this month none are listed as dying due to enemy fire in Fallujah. Numbers from the US military put this number at around 15. Having read many reports Id be highly surprised if this number is accurate.

 

[Barking_Mad]

List of troops killed since the 8th November

Interesting to note that of the 23 US troops killed so far this month none are listed as dying due to enemy fire in Fallujah. Numbers from the US military put this number at around 15. Having read many reports Id be highly surprised if this number is accurate.

Two injured at incidents at Black Watch base in Iraq

Two soldiers have been injured, one of them seriously, after separate incidents at the Black Watch's base in Iraq. The most seriously injured man is a Lynx helicopter pilot whose aircraft came under small arms fire this morning. He has been transferred to a US Military hospital in Baghdad. The second casualty was injured after a mortar attack on Camp Dogwood this morning. Neither soldier has been named.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Eyewitness: Defiance amid carnage

As US forces battle insurgents in streets strewn with rubble and corpses, Iraqi sources question the claims that the US controls much of Falluja. The BBC News website spoke by phone to Fadhil Badrani, a journalist in the city who reports for the BBC World Service in Arabic.

I went for a walk around the city last night after the Americans pulled back. It was very quiet - often the only sounds coming from the movement of fighters along streets and rooftops. In places, it was also very dark, with only the occasional rocket or flare lighting the way.

Wherever I went, I found broken buildings and bodies - local people and fighters killed on the streets. I also saw four crippled US tanks and three abandoned Humvees. In the Hasbiyyah area, I counted the bodies of at least six US soldiers lying on the ground.

Some of them were badly mangled with various bits blown off. Others were in better condition, as if they had taken small-arms fire. I noticed two of the US soldiers were still clutching their guns tightly across their chests. But most of their weapons were missing. Some of the dead are beginning to rot in the streets.

 

[Barking_Mad]

U.S. Reportedly Firing White Phosphorous Rounds

The Washington Post reports that the U.S. has begun firing white phosphorous rounds that create a screen of fire that cannot be extinguished with water. Iraqi doctors are reporting that corpses are being brought into the hospital with their skin melted -- a reaction consistent with white phosphorous burns.

 

[Barking_Mad]

From an Iraqi Blog. (edited to fit together)

NEAR FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov 6 (AFP) - With US forces massing outside Fallujah, 35 marines swayed to Christian rock music and asked Jesus Christ to protect them in what could be the biggest battle since American troops invaded Iraq last year.

Men with buzzcuts and clad in their camouflage waved their hands in the air, M-16 assault rifles laying beside them, and chanted heavy metal-flavoured lyrics in praise of Christ late Friday in a yellow-brick chapel.

"You are the sovereign. You're name is holy. You are the pure spotless lamb," a female voice cried out on the loudspeakers as the marines clapped their hands and closed their eyes, reflecting on what lay ahead for them.

Their chaplain, named Horne, told the worshippers they were stationed outside Fallujah to bring the Iraqis "freedom from oppression, rape, torture and murder ... We ask you God to bless us in that effort."

The marines then lined up and their chaplain blessed them with holy oil to protect them. "God's people would be annointed with oil," the chaplain said, as he lightly dabbed oil on the marines' foreheads.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Copy of a letter Ive sent to the BBC re: the US bombing and occupation of hospitals. A copy of this also went to Richard Sambrook who in the past has replied to all of my e-mails. If you feel angry about omissions or lack of objectivity, then e-mail the BBC - if enough people do it Ive no doubt it will have an effect on their content. It has before

BBC feedback - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3281777.stm
Richard Sambrook - richard.sambrook@bbc. co.uk (remove space)

-------

Dear BBC,

You online content over the last few days of the Fallujah assault has been very good, much better than the tv coverage which has been at best a mixed bag. However nowhere have I seen any reference made to the Geneva Convention and the rules that are being broken by the US military. Quoted from a web site:

"The agreement provided for the neutrality of ambulance and military hospitals, the non-belligerent status of persons who aid the wounded, and sick soldiers of any nationality, the return of prisoners to their country if they are incapable of serving, and the adoption of a white flag with a red cross for use on hospitals, ambulances, and evacuation centres whose neutrality would be recognized by this symbol."

The US has so far bombed and destroyed at least two hospitals and is occupying another, which you have reported. However I'd have thought that this contravention of the Geneva Convention would be worthy of an article, yet I can't seem to find one.

Can I politely suggest that given that this is a war crime that you bring this to the attention of your readers, listeners and viewers - otherwise the impression will be given that these tactics are permissable in a war zone. I look forward to a reply at the above e-mail address. I have also sent a copy of this mail to Richard Sambrook.

 

[laptop]

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/144/1547/320/cross.jpg

Also linked from Raed's blog ...

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Hostage slaughterhouses found in Fallujah.

http://www.canada.com/news/story.html?id=8d0475e8-492d-49e7-8ac9-ae2ee5969bb9

 

[bigfish]

Hostage slaughterhouses found in Fallujah.

http://www.canada.com/news/story.html?id=8d0475e8-492d-49e7-8ac9-ae2ee5969bb9

An Iraqi general said...

It's beyond all doubt that it's true then?! A general no less

Pure spudcheese propaganda.. Johnny's favourite.

 

[laptop]

Tracked down an (I think) accessible source for yet another point from Raed in Baghdad:

"Usually we keep the gloves on," said Army Capt. Erik Krivda, of Gaithersburg, Md., the senior officer in charge of the 1st Infantry Division's Task Force 2-2 tactical operations command center. "For this operation, we took the gloves off."

Some artillery guns fired white phosphorous rounds that create a screen of fire that cannot be extinguished with water. Insurgents reported being attacked with a substance that melted their skin, a reaction consistent with white phosphorous burns.

Kamal Hadeethi, a physician at a regional hospital, said, "The corpses of the mujahedeen which we received were burned, and some corpses were melted."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/10/MNG6P9P3ER1.DTL

'Course that's not Napalm™: That's a Trade Mark.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Updates.

Hostage found in Fallujah
Iraq U-S troops in Fallujah have found a hostage -- chained and malnourished

Rebels storm police in Mosul
MASKED rebels stormed into six Iraqi police stations in the northern city of Mosul today seizing weapons and torching buildings, according to an AFP correspondent in the city. In what appeared to be a coordinated attack, one day after a curfew was imposed on the restive city, gunmen pulled up in front police stations in the centre, eastern and northern parts of the city forcing policemen to leave the buildings. They then looted weapons and ammunition from the stations before setting some buildings and police cars on fire.

Car bomb kills 17 in central Baghdad
A car bomb exploded in the heart of Baghdad Thursday, killing 17 people and wounding at least eight in a crowded commercial area, police said.

US soldiers in Iraq hit by parasite
MORE than 650 US troops deployed in Iraq have been infected with a fly-borne parasite that causes chronic, festering sores, officials said at a health conference in Miami

 

[bigfish]

US assault leaves Fallujah in ruins and unknown numbers dead
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/nov2004/fall-n11.shtml

Iraq veteran Jimmy Massey speaks to the WSWS
"We're committing genocide in Iraq"
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/nov2004/vet-n11.shtml

Letters to US newspapers reflect widespread revulsion over Fallujah attack
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/nov2004/iraq-n11.shtml

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle published a letter from Scott Failor. “Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was indeed right when he explained at his Monday news conference with a calm certainty that Iraqi citizens will turn against the ‘violent foreign extremists’ as the atrocities and slaughter mount,” it read. “The catch is, the ‘violent foreign extremists’ in the eyes of most Iraqis and much of the world are the US Marines.”

These responses to the crimes of US imperialism in Fallujah and Iraq provide a small but telling indication of the chasm that separates millions of ordinary Americans from the entire political establishment—Democratic as well as Republican—and the corporate-controlled media.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Iraqi hostages found in Falluja

US-led troops involved in fighting against insurgents in the Iraqi city of Falluja have found four imprisoned men believed to be Iraqi hostages. Three of the men were contractors working for the US military, a US marines spokesman said, and the fourth said he was a taxi driver. All of the men had been beaten and starved and were wearing handcuffs. Meanwhile, two US helicopters were hit by small-arms and rocket fire in separate incidents and forced to land.

The crews of both aircraft were rescued unhurt, the US military said. US-led forces say they have rid more than 70% of the city of insurgents in the battle, which began on Tuesday.

Pockets of resistance

Troops are now trying to secure the southern districts of the city. The rebels are said to be disorganised and leaderless, but still dangerous. The BBC's Paul Wood, who is embedded with US marines in Falluja, says pockets of resistance remain even in areas the US and Iraqi forces have captured. Troops are coming under sniper fire all over the city, he says.

Villages to the west of the city, thought by the US to be clear of insurgents, are also reporting sniper, mortar and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Concerns are growing about the humanitarian situation in and around Falluja. Red Crescent spokeswoman Firdoos al-Ubadi said Falluja was a "disaster", with doctors unable to reach most Iraqi casualties and medical equipment virtually non-existent. There is little information on the number of military or civilian casualties in Falluja.

 

[bigfish]

Updates.

Hostage found in Fallujah

I see the old yarn about a supposed "slaughterhouse" being found in Falluja is being repackaged and presented alongside this chained hostage story and bears all the hallmarks of another piece of spudcheese propaganda this time from AP.

Great stuff!

 

[Barking_Mad]

It's not entirely unlikely that they might find a few hostages - the thing that makes me laugh is the talk of finding CD's and the media pedalling this as if its something new. Do the media have the memory of a goldfish? Its odd because Ive been reading for months about CD's being on sale in Baghdad and Fallujah's markets of beheadings....But is this mentioned? Nope - instead they report it as if they'd never heard the story before.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Falluja troops under heavy fire http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mi...ast/4003549.stm

Quote:
US marines in Falluja have come under sustained attack from several different directions in the headquarters they have set up in the Iraqi city. The BBC's Paul Wood, who is at the scene, said there was sniper fire from four or five points on the horizon. The insurgents may have regrouped, he says, after US-led troops took over large parts of the city. Another BBC correspondent says troops have pulled back from the city hospital, captured on Sunday night.

Our correspondent says the US marines have had to call in four air strikes as they came under heavy fire in central Falluja. Insurgents appear to have got to the perimeter of the headquarters, he says. At the same time, a rifle company of marines has been pushing out into the city, going literally house to house to try to clear out the insurgents. But the company came under continuous fire as soon as it left the base. US-led forces said earlier on Thursday they had rid more than 70% of the city of insurgents in the battle.

The BBC's Paul Wood, who is embedded with US marines in Falluja, says pockets of resistance remain even in areas the US and Iraqi forces have captured. Troops are coming under sniper fire all over the city, he says. Villages to the west of the city, thought by the US to be clear of insurgents, are also reporting sniper, mortar and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Falluja battle goes on as rebels hit back

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. troops are fighting to crush resistance in the Iraqi city of Falluja but rebels have hit back with an armed rampage in Mosul and a car bomb that killed 17 people in a crowded Baghdad street.

Marines met little opposition in the former insurgent stronghold of Jolan, in northwest Falluja, where guerrillas fired only one or two mortar rounds as tanks pushed through alleys, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene on Thursday. But a huge explosion erupted in the district after dark, sending a fireball into the sky, the reporter said.

"Things are going, I think, as planned. We've got about 70 percent of the city under control," U.S. General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CBS television. "There have been hundreds and hundreds of insurgents who have been either killed or captured," he said.

The Falluja assault has provoked an upsurge in violence elsewhere in Iraq, as happened in April during an earlier failed U.S. attempt to subdue the country's most rebellious city. The late morning car bomb that killed 17 people in central Baghdad also wounded at least 20, the police source said. A Reuters reporter saw four bodies in burned-out cars after the blast near a police patrol in a busy street just off Nasr Square. The bomb devastated a nearby building and littered the street with twisted metal and glass from shattered shop windows.

And while U.S.-led troops fought for the upper hand in Falluja, insurgents in the northern city of Mosul set police stations ablaze, stole weapons and brazenly roamed the streets.

Residents said Iraq's third largest city seemed to slide out of control as grenade blasts and gunfire rang through empty streets and smoke billowed from two burning police stations. Rebels attacked Iraqi national guards controlling a bridge in the city centre, killing five of them, witnesses said.

"REALLY CRAZY"

A cameraman for Reuters filmed gunmen raiding weapons and flak jackets from a police station before setting it on fire. "It's crazy, really, really crazy," said Abdallah Fathi, a resident who witnessed one police station attack. The U.S. military issued a statement admitting that local security forces had been overrun in several areas and said local authorities were doing what they could to restore order.

A photographer working for Reuters was shot in the leg and taken to hospital. Doctors said one civilian had been killed and at least 25 wounded in the past two days of fighting. Violence has worsened in Mosul, a strongly nationalist city of three million people, over the past year, but residents said the chaos of the past two days had broken new ground.

Apparently responding to the Falluja offensive, insurgents have staged attacks this week in the Sunni towns and cities of Samarra, Baiji, Baquba, Tikrit, Ramadi and parts of Baghdad. Six national guards were killed near Tikrit, Saddam's home town, by a roadside bomb on Wednesday night, witnesses said.

In Falluja, residents said the stench of decomposing bodies hung over the city, power and water supplies were cut and food was running out for thousands of trapped civilians. About 10,000 U.S. troops, backed by 2,000 Iraqi government troops, are engaged in the battle for Falluja.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Voices from Falluja

Hamid Flewa, lawyer and Falluja resident: We heard a lot overnight [on Wednesday] and the bombing intensified at dawn. [Wednesday's] onslaught affected most districts in the city.

Iraqis are asking why their city has been singled out. There are bodies strewn in the streets and most families were forced to bury the dead in their gardens. I can see lines of bodies alongside the pavement. I'm talking to you from the centre of the city. I am with my family. But we have no water or electricity. We are going through our food supplies very quickly. No more food can reach the city. Falluja is closed off. There is no escape. We are all surrounded. I hope my appeal will reach our British and American brothers, that this city has not just landed from another planet. We are human beings. This is an Iraqi city. Why should we have to go through this? I am just lost for words.


Yunis Daoud, Falluja resident:
The situation in Falluja is very bad. It's been bombed extremely hard, destroying the streets and mosques. They hit a second hospital [on Tuesday], killing everyone. There are dead bodies in the streets. People have been burying their dead in the gardens of their homes. Everywhere you go there is great fear. My family left the house before the bombing but my friends and I stayed. We didn't think the air strikes would be this strong. We were so scared this morning, we escaped across the Euphrates in small vessels and along country roads that the Americans have not yet discovered. It was a very dangerous thing to do. We were at risk of getting killed at any moment.


Fadhil Badrani, journalist:
There are more dead bodies on the streets and the stench is getting stronger. A house some doors from mine was hit during the bombardment last night. A 13-year-old boy was killed. It is very dangerous to try to leave the city at the moment. We are completely cut off from the outside world - no electricity, no water. People are dying from their injuries because there is nowhere to go for treatment. A clinic that was serving as the last hospital in the city was bombed two nights ago. Some families have begun burying their dead in gardens and backyards.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Iraqi Rebels Have Attacked Baiji

Iraqi rebels have attacked the Northern Iraqi city of Baiji and blocked several streets in the city, Reuters reported. According to eyewitness reports, street affrays have occurred between rebels and Iraqi police authorities.