*IRAQ: latest news and developments

[Barking_Mad]

Make what you will of this........

Muslims Seek Pentagon Probe of Iraq Photo

WASHINGTON, Apr 2, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for a Pentagon investigation of a photograph circulating on the Internet that apparently shows an American soldier mocking an Iraqi child.

The photo sent to CAIR seems to be of an American soldier standing next to two Iraqi children who are giving the thumbs-up sign. One child holds a hand- lettered sign in English that reads: "Lcpl Boudreaux killed my Dad, th(en) he knocked up my sister!" ("Knocked up" is American slang for making someone pregnant out of wedlock.) SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/images/lcpl11.jpg

"If the United States Army is seeking to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, this is the wrong way to accomplish that goal," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Defense Department officials must take action to let military personnel know that such offensive behavior harms America's image and will not be tolerated."

Awad said CAIR has also received an anonymous letter from a soldier who recently returned from Iraq that claims a commanding officer engaged in inappropriate conduct with prepubescent Iraqi girls. The letter states that the officer, who was named by the writer, referred to the girls as "pre-rag heads" and coerced local Iraqi leaders to provide them in exchange for protection by American soldiers. (The officer's military unit was also named in the letter.)

The letter-writer indicated revulsion at the officer's alleged actions. He or she wrote: "The thought of all this makes me sick to my stomach. I am afraid to bring this to anyone in the Army, because I am doubtful that they would believe a soldier over the Battalion Commander."

Photo in Question HERE

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=0...2B1-2AAF-11D5-867D00D0B74A0D7C&l=205600040402

 

[Barking_Mad]

More US troops may be needed in Iraq - key senator

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - The United States may need to bolster its troop presence in Iraq and extend the deadline for transfer to Iraqi rule, amid an insurgency that could lead to civil war, a leading Republican lawmaker said on Sunday.

"It may be that we do need more troops ... because I think we have to have security (in Iraq)," U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican and head of the Senate foreign relations committee, said on ABC television's "This Week.".........On Sunday, Spanish-led troops and Iraqi police fought a 3-hour gun battle with Shi'ite militiamen near Najaf that left almost two dozen Iraqis and four Salvadoran soldiers dead.

Lugar said he is worried that when the U.S.-led coalition turns over sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30, the new government will be unable to deal with the violence. "They're at a point in which clearly they can't control the situation," he said. "You have the militia that has not been disarmed, and if in fact the worst situation comes, the militia begin to fight each other, that is, civil war."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N04331833.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

7 US Soldiers Killed In Baghdad Ambush - CNN

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush by supporters of an anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric, Cable News Network reported Sunday. According to CNN, the ambush took place in the impoverished Baghdad neighborhood called Sadr City, once known as Saddam City. The attack was carried out by supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, a charismatic young cleric. CNN said the four U.S. soldiers were killed as they went in to Sadr City to try and take back a police station that had been taken over by supporters of al- Sadr.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/world/8354951.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

Iraq Ambush Hurts 3 Portugal,2 Italy Police

LISBON (AP)--Three Portuguese policemen were injured in an ambush in southern Iraq on Sunday, officials said. The three Portuguese officers as well as two Italian Caribinieri were injured by a grenade when out on patrol before dawn, a police spokesman in Lisbon told television station S.I.C.

The Portuguese policemen suffered shrapnel injuries in their legs and were taken to hospital, the spokesman, identified only as Capt. Belo, told S.I.C. "All the injuries are light. They are not in danger." Belo told S.I.C. He gave no further details about the incident.

Officials in Lisbon couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Portugal has 128 police under Italian command in the Nassiriyah region to help with peacekeeping.

http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2004040420130000&Take=1

 

[Gumbert]

Shias kill US troops in Iraq

Seven US soldiers have died in fighting with Shias in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, hours after clashes between occupation troops and Iraqi protesters claimed 20 lives.

The US military late on Sunday said two dozen soldiers have also been wounded in the clashes with supporters of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The soldiers reportedly died in a battle for control of police and public buildings with the Mehdi Army, al-Sadr's militia, in the Shia suburb of Sadr City in Baghdad.

The fierce fighting served grim notice that Shias in Iraq may have finally turned their ire on US-led occupation soldiers.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EDCD4B5B-D929-4D54-B1A5-AFA4DACD4B5F.htm

your right barking, this is getting mad!

 

[Barking_Mad]

Redical Shi'ites occupy Basra Govt. building

LONDON (Reuters) - A Shi'ite group has occupied a government building in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, British defense officials said Monday.
"Some members of the Sadr Shia (Shi'ite) group walked into a government building and occupied it peacefully overnight," a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense said. "There are talks going now between the group and Iraqi officials."

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4747120&section=news

 

[Barking_Mad]

More fighting in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Fresh fighting between U.S. forces and Shi'ite militiamen erupted in a Baghdad neighborhood Monday, with two Apache helicopters firing on targets in the area, Reuters journalists at the scene said.
A U.S. vehicle was also in flames in the area, a predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4748376&section=news

 

[Barking_Mad]

"Pacify" - we all know what that means dont we boys and girls?

US poised to 'pacify' Iraqi town

US troops have sealed off the Sunni flashpoint town of Falluja where four Americans were killed and their bodies mutilated by a mob last week.

Unconfirmed reports say several people were killed when a US warplane dropped bombs on a residential area of the town after a mortar attack on troops. The US command has vowed to "pacify" Falluja, where four civilian contractors were killed on Wednesday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3599993.stm

 

[Barking_Mad]

Bremer's stumbling fron one disaster to another - He's assured himself a place in history that's for sure.

Iraq administrator outlaws Muslim cleric

The United States civilian administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has branded the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr an outlaw and warned that US-led forces will not tolerate any uprising by his followers. Speaking to a meeting of Iraq's national security committee, Paul Bremer said Sadr was effectively trying to establish his authority in the place of the legitimate authority. Mr Bremer said this would not be tolerated and the Coalition would assert law and order as the Iraqi people expected. As he spoke in the Baghdad slum district of Sadr city, thousands of Sadr supporters were gathering on the streets.

After a night of pitched battles with US troops, seven soldiers and more than 20 Sadr supporters have been left dead and scores of others injured. In central Baghdad, US forces put on a show of strength sealing off major intersections with tanks and armoured personnel carriers and pulling down Sadr posters from surrounding buildings. Meanwhile, US-led forces have sealed off the town of Fallujah where four American security guards were killed and their bodies burned and mutilated last week. Witnesses are reporting heavy firing on the outskirts of the city and US forces have closed the nearby highway linking Baghdad with the Jordanian border.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1081631.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

Four more US troops killed in Iraq attacks

BAGHDAD : Four US troops were killed in the past 24 hours in combat in Iraq, including one Marine and a soldier who died Monday in separate attacks, raising to 11 the number killed since Sunday, the US military said. "One Marine assigned to the 1st Marine Division has been killed as a result of enemy action in Al-Anbar province today," the military said, adding that a US soldier also died Monday of wounds received Sunday during clashes with radical Shiite militants in Baghdad.

Another seven soldiers were killed in the same clashes in the northern Baghdad suburb of Sadr City. A US soldier was also killed near the northern oil center of Mosul on Sunday in a bomb attack, while the fourth American from the 1st Infantry Division died in a car bomb attack near the police academy of Kirkuk, also in northern Iraq.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/78748/1/.html

 

[Barking_Mad]

Spanish troops come under mortar fire in Iraq


MADRID, April 5 (Reuters) - Spanish troops in Iraq came under mortar fire on Monday, one day after deadly clashes with protesters in and near the holy Shi'ite city of Najaf, Spain's Defence Ministry said.

"Both in Najaf and in Diwaniya the bases occupied by the (Spanish-led) Plus Ultra Brigade have been under sporadic attack from mortar launchers, although none of the rounds has caused personal or material damage," a Defence Ministry statement said.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L05554261.htm

 

[Hawkeye Pearce]

US forces attack Shia district:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3599771.stm

 

[Barking_Mad]

US vehicle attacked - Iraqi runs off with heavy machine gun

Another clash in Baghdad; Marine killed in Anbar province

Followers of a radical Muslim cleric clashed with a U-S patrol. An American armored vehicle was seen burning, and an Iraqi man was seen running off with a heavy machine gun -- apparently taken from the vehicle. An American helicopter hovered overhead. No word on injuries.

The military also reports that a Marine was killed today in Anbar province, where Fallujah is located. It didn't give further details. U.S. and Iraqi forces have surrounded the city ahead of a major raid targeting insurgents

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/apress_040504_marinekilled.html

 

[Barking_Mad]

UK Army, Shiites Exchange Gunfire In Iraq's Basra - BBC

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. forces and a Shiite militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr exchanged gunfire Monday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, BBC television reports.

Sadr supporters took control of the governor's office in Basra Sunday and the protest had been peaceful, but the BBC said violence had now erupted. Early Monday around 150 members of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia occupied the office, the BBC said.

http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsSto...ACQDJON200404050812DOWJONESDJONLINE000271.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

Four US Marines Killed West of Baghdad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Guerrillas killed four U.S. Marines in volatile al-Anbar province west of Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said in a statement on Tuesday.
The statement did not specify the precise location or give details of the attack, as the Marines say this could put their personnel at risk. Marines have taken over responsibility for security in a large swathe of western Iraq that includes the volatile towns of Falluja and Ramadi. Since U.S. troops invaded Iraq last year to topple Saddam Hussein, 426 American soldiers have been killed in action.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4759866&section=news

Eleven Italian soldiers wounded in southern Iraq

ROME (AFX) - Eleven Italian soldiers have been slightly wounded in clashes with armed supporters of the Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr in the southern Iraqi town of Nasiriyah, a military source said as quoted by the ANSA news agency.Shiite sources in Iraq have confirmed that Sadr supporters fought Italihas given any indication of Iraqi casualties. The Italian source said the clashes occurred when the soldiers tried to disperse "several hundred" Shiites who were blocking bridges in the town, about 375 km south of Baghdad. Three soldiers were hit by gunfire and eight others received cuts and bruises, the source said.On Sunday, three Italian carabinieri (paramilitary police) were wounded in the same area.

http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=4944314&action=article

U.S. officials plan for possible increase in troops in Iraq

Military officials spoke for the first time Monday of possibly increasing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq in response to the surge in anti-American violence. While saying he believed the current force level to be adequate, a senior official of the U.S. Central Command acknowledged it was involved in "prudent planning" for sending more troops to Iraq.

"Given the events of this weekend and the obvious potential for more demonstrations or more violence, we have asked the staff to at least take a look and see what forces are available out there in a quick response mode, in the event that they should be needed if there was a widespread move in that direction," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Pentagon reporters.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0404/06iraq.html

 

[Barking_Mad]

Iraqi Sadr militia kidnaps two South Korean human rights workers

NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AFX) - The militia of Iraqi Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr said it has kidnapped two South Korean human rights workers in Nasiriyah and will not release them until Italian soldiers leave the city. However, an official for the militants also said the militia will observe a two-hour ceasefire in this southern city to allow the Italian coalition contingent to leave the area.

http://www.iii.co.uk/shares/?type=news&articleid=4944791&action=article

Bremer: US ready to end Iraq occupation on June 30

Iraq's US administrator said last night he was confident America's occupation would end as planned on June 30 despite an upsurge in violence, and insisted Iraq had nothing in common with Vietnam.

Paul Bremer, the civilian in charge of the US occupation of Iraq, tried to soothe US fears over continuing attacks in Iraq against US troops and civilian contractors and said he was on track to hand over to the Iraqis on June 30. "We have problems, there's no hiding that, but basically Iraq is on track to realise the kind of Iraq that Iraqis and Americans want, which is a democratic Iraq," he told ABC's "Good Morning America" program.

He added: "We have got some groups who don't agree with that vision - they are terrorists and former regime guys. ... Instead they think power in Iraq should come out of the barrel of a gun and that is intolerable and we will deal with it." Yesterday, US Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said Iraq had become "George Bush's Vietnam," referring to the war that divided the United States and helped drive Lyndon Johnson from the presidency.

Bremer strongly disagreed with Kennedy. "Aw gee, I don't even know where to start with that comparison. I think it's completely inappropriate. There is really nothing in common with Vietnam," he told NBC's "Today" show.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/06/1081222474617.html

Blair outlines Iraq 'challenges'

Iraq's foreign minister says his country is not in chaos. Tony Blair has admitted that the coalition faces "big challenges" in Iraq following some of the most difficult days since the war ended. "It was always going to be a difficult task," said the UK prime minister after a meeting with Iraqi foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari in Downing Street. But, he said, the vast majority of Iraqis want to see Iraq making progress towards stability and democracy. Mr Zebari said Mr Blair had taken a "courageous decision" by going to war.

Mr Blair told reporters: "Big challenges remain in Iraq - of that there is no doubt as events in recent days show. "Iraq has been a deeply damaged country and going from totalitarianism to freedom was always bound to be difficult. "A few groups are abusing those freedoms in Iraq. They are supporters of Saddam Hussein, there are some outside terrorists and then ... there are people who want to subvert the path of Iraq towards a proper democracy." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3604147.stm

Iraq Cleric Al-Sadr Demands US Troops Leave Cities

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The radical Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has made fresh demands on U.S.-led coalition forces, Sky News reports on its Web site. The cleric's aide said Muqtada al-Sadr had vowed to continue a Shiite uprising until the the coalition withdraw troops from populated areas, such as Baghdad and Fallujah, and release prisoners.

The demands are in addition to the original call for al-Sadr's newspaper to be reopened after the coalition shut it down. Al Sadr's militiamen have opened up three fronts across the country, targeting coalition forces and causing casualties in U.S., U.K. and Italian-held areas.

At least 39 Iraqis have been killed and 126 others wounded in clashes between al-Sadr's militiamen and U.S. soldiers in the past 48 hours, a hospital chief said. An additional 12 Iraqis died and 27 others were wounded in separate fighting with U.K troops in the southeastern city of Amara during the same period, local officials said.

http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsSto...ACQDJON200404060944DOWJONESDJONLINE000477.htm

Alleged al-Qaida Tape Claims Iraq Attacks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A man claiming to be a senior al-Qaida figure that the United States believes is operating in Iraq (news - web sites) has released a tape calling for the country's Sunni Muslims to fight Shiites and claiming responsibility for high-profile attacks there.

The tape's authenticity could not be verified immediately. Terrorism experts say that even when such statements cannot be traced to al-Qaida, they serve the group's cause by inspiring sympathizers. Al-Zarqawi's whereabouts are unknown, but the Web site on which the tape appeared had a transcript heading that said al-Zarqawi was in Iraq.....

....On the tape, the speaker said Shiite Iraqis were not true Muslims and were "the ears and the eyes of the Americans" in Iraq. He called upon Sunni Muslims in Iraq to "burn the earth under the occupiers' feet."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ap/20040406/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_al_qaida_tape

 

[Gumbert]

Defiant al-Sadr vows uprising will continue

The revolt by supporters of Iraqi leader Muqtada al-Sadr will continue until occupying troops are withdrawn from populated areas and prisoners are released.

"The uprising will continue and we will not negotiate unless they fulfil our demands, which are a withdrawal from populated areas and the release of prisoners," al-Sadr aide Qays al-Ghazali said on Tuesday.

He also read a statement from the Shia cleric denouncing President George Bush and the US-led occupation.

"This insurrection shows that the Iraqi people are not satisfied with the occupation and they will not accept oppression," the statement said.

Al-Sadr said he called on countries with forces in Iraq to withdraw their soldiers.

"I direct my words to the great evil, Bush, and I ask who is against democracy? Is it the one who is advocating peaceful resistance or the one who is bombing the nation and shedding blood?" he said.

The statement said al-Sadr had decided to end a sit-in at the main mosque in Kufa, near Najaf, because he feared that the mosque would be raided and defiled by occupation troops.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5F79E495-C18B-4F11-A554-CD4F679B50D9.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

Cleric's Supporters Control Buildings In Najaf, Iraq

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Supporters of maverick Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr now control several buildings, including the governor's office, police stations and a mosque in Najaf, Iraq, Cable News Network reported on its Web site Tuesday.

Attributing its information to a source in the U.S.-led coalition forces in southern Iraq, CNN said al-Sadr's followers controlled the Imam Ali mosque, one of the holiest shrines of Shiite Muslims. Iraqi police were negotiating to regain their stations, the source told the network.

http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsSto...ACQDJON200404061611DOWJONESDJONLINE000825.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

This looks like quite a serious and well planned attack - lots of US casualties

'100' Militants Attacked US Compound In Ar Ramadi, Iraq

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- At least 100 heavily armed Iraqi militants launched an attack Tuesday on a U.S. coalition compound in Ar Ramadi, an Iraqi city in the Sunni Triangle west of Baghdad, U.S. sources said, Fox News reported from the Pentagon.

U.S. forces defending the compund are engaged in a fierce firefight with those believed to be followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the sources said. Fox reported that according to eyewitness accounts, there were a number of U.S. casualties, although the Pentagon hasn't released an official report of the fighting that is now under way.

The network reported that the fighting started when heavily armed militants belonging to al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army militia moved into the coalition compound, triggering an intense firefight. Fox said that at one point, soldiers from the Headquarters company of the First Marine Division were called in to defend against the militants. It didn't say how many Marines were involved in the fighting.

U.S. commanders, according to Fox, expressed suprise at what they described as "highly experienced" Iraqi fighters involved in the attack.

http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsSto...ACQDJON200404061642DOWJONESDJONLINE000850.htm

UPDATE

FALLUJAH, Iraq — An "extremely intense" battle is taking place in Ramadi (search), another Sunni Triangle hotbed of guerrilla activity 24 miles west of Fallujah, Pentagon and military officials told Fox News on Tuesday.

At least 100 fighters in the army of Muqtada al-Sadr (search), the fiery anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric wanted on a murder charge, charged a U.S.-led coalition compound, officials said.

A defense official told Fox News that there have been "significant" U.S. deaths from the fighting in Ramadi.

Fighting was so intense that commanders went to the unit headquarters to pull people who wouldn't normally fight into the combat, military sources said.

The fighting — the worst seen in the area or Iraq in recent months — has left some American casualties, officials said. One Marine estimated some 80 people were killed in initial exchanges but it was unclear how many of those were Iraqi. Further details about the extent of casualties were not immediately known.

"This is not like any other firefight we've seen so far," military sources in Iraq said. "There are bullets flying all over the place." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,116262,00.html

 

[Barking_Mad]

Fox (TV) Reporting that at least 12 Marines Dead, over 20 injured in the above story.

 

[Gumbert]

Dozen US Marines killed in Ramadi attack

your right barking. where are those warmongers now that claimed democracy from on high will bring peace?

At least 12 US marines are reported to have been killed and about two dozen others injured in a ferocious attack on their position in the Iraqi city of Ramadi.

A US defence official on Tuesday said initial reports indicated that scores of Iraqis attacked the Marine position near the governor's palace in the city.

"There may have been as many as a dozen Marine deaths," the official said, adding that a "significant number" of Iraqis were also killed in the exchange of fire.

The official said it was not clear exactly who had mounted the attack on the Marines.

He also said the assault left a "signficant" number of Iraqis dead.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/86EBAB6B-FB76-4811-AB87-A82B035A36FA.htm

 

[Gumbert]

Al-Sadr sought for more murders and theft

So begins the political intrigue guff...

Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, whose supporters have risen up against the US-led occupation forces, is wanted not only for the killing of a rival last year, but also being sought for questioning in another murder case, a legal advisor to the US-led occupation has said.

Al-Sadr is wanted for the 10 April 2003 assassination of rival cleric Abd al-Majid al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death in the central Shia city of Najaf, along with two other people.

He is also wanted for questioning over the deaths four months ago of three people, including a pregnant woman, who were taken to hospital in Najaf in a taxi, the source said.

In a third case, al-Sadr is accused of confiscating the "khums," or donations of worshipers to mosques and shrines in the south, which were worth a few hundred dollars.

The official said an arrest warrant was signed and delivered by an Iraqi judge in August.

Speaking about the matter later on Tuesday, US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told reporters "we believe it is an internal matter."

"This was a warrant issued by an Iraqi judge, it will be carried out by Iraqi police forces, he will be detained in an Iraqi jail and he will be prosecuted by an Iraqi judge," he said.

The occupation, he said, "will be coming to help, if and when specific requests for assistance are made".

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/ECBD601F-972F-4413-A7DD-BB3A8F5DFEBB.htm

 

[Barking_Mad]

12 marines and 66 Iraqis die

.....In Fallujah, where Iraqis had braced for retaliation following last week's killing of four American civilians, US marines drove into the centre of the Sunni city amid heavy fighting Tuesday.At least eight Iraqis were killed and 20 wounded in the fighting, hospital officials said.

Some reports said that at least 36 civilians were killed there, including 25 killed in a house destroyed in an attack that locals blamed on US forces.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_914951.html?menu=

 

[Gumbert]

Falluja engulfed in fighting

an arab view...

Fierce street battles are raging in Falluja between resistance fighters defending the town and US occupation forces, who are launching missile attacks in and around residential areas.

Hospital sources say at least 52 Iraqis have died in attacks since Tuesday in the besieged town which American forces sealed off on Sunday, reported Aljazeera's correspondent Ahmad Mansur. More than 100 others, including children, have been injured.

Twenty-six of those killed were from one family.

Speaking live from a rooftop in the tense town, Mansur said the hospital is struggling to cope with the rising casualties.

"They are attacking residential neighbourhoods," he said as US warplanes swooped over the area and fired rockets. Intense gunfire could be heard from the streets.

"The residents of Falluja are asking where is the (US-appointed) Iraqi Governing Council," said an obviously shaken Mansur. "They are asking why the Iraqis are not protecting them."

Plea for help

"Residents of Falluja call on the Arab world to intervene and lift the siege on this town of 300,000. They ask where are the Arab leaders in this time?" he said before throwing himself to the ground as a plane flew overhead.

Falluja has come under fierce US attack in the past three days as occupation forces sealed off the town, a centre for anti-occupation activity, in an effort to crush the resistance.

US marines tried for a third time to take control of the town but were forced to retreat.

The Aljazeera crew, including cameramen Layf Muftaq and Hasan Walid, sound engineer Sayf al-Din and correspondent Hamid Hadid, are the only media personnel inside the town.

Since the closure was imposed on Sunday, 91 Iraqis have been killed and dozens more injured.

US forces besieged the town after last week's ambush in which four security guards were killed and their bodies mutilated and dragged through the streets by Iraqi mobs.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A73529F1-1554-4C68-8774-BA478D565B02.htm

 

[Kaka Tim]

News 24 are reporting that an AP reporter inside fallujah is saying that a Mosque has been hit by three air launched missiles - killing 40 Iraqis.

Also a US helicopter has been shot down near (i think) Ramadi.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Jesus, Gumbert's post above makes for horrifc reading

US on Edge of losing parts of Iraq

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said the U.S. and its allies are "right on the edge" of losing control in areas of Iraq.In an appearance Tuesday evening on CNBC's "Capital Report," Hagel characterized the current situation in Iraq as "dangerous, complicated," and said more troops may be required.

"And I know that Gen. (John) Abizaid (head of the U.S. Central Command) is seriously considering that, and if he decides that's what we need, we need those troops in there, we need them now," the Senator said. Hagel said: "Gen. Abizaid has said he wants some options presented to him within 48 hours. He said that a day ago. This is a crucial, critical time. We cannot allow some of these areas to become uncontrollable..." Asked if the U.S. "actually (is) in danger of losing control," Hagel said, " Well, I think in some of these areas, we are right on the edge."

http://news.nasdaq.com/news/newsSto...ACQDJON200404070907DOWJONESDJONLINE000446.htm

Sadr aide says Iraqis capture coalition soldiers

BEIRUT, April 7 (Reuters) - A top aide to the militant Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Wednesday that his supporters had captured a number of soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition during clashes currently taking place across a large swathe of Iraq.

"Some tribes have captured some occupation forces on the streets," Qays al-Khazali told a news conference in the Shi'ite Muslim holy city of Najaf.

He gave no further details. The news conference was broadcast by Lebanon's al-Manar television station, mouthpiece of the Hizbollah group.

There was no immediate comment on the report from the command of U.S.-led forces in Baghdad.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L07168927.htm

U.S. military helicopter hit by small arms fire in Iraq

BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. military helicopter made an emergency landing in the city of Baqouba on Wednesday after it was hit by small arms fire, the military said.

No one was wounded in the incident and the military planned to transport the OH-58 Kiowa helicopter to a nearby base by truck, a U.S. official in Baghdad said.

Associated Press photographer Mohammed Adnan earlier said he heard an explosion and then saw a military helicopter burning on the ground in a field near a residential neighborhood in Baqouba. U.S. troops closed off the site.

U.S. troops and Shiite militiamen clashed Wednesday in Baqouba, 30 miles northeast of Baghdad. During the fighting, militiamen hit the governor's offices with rocket-propelled grenades.
http://www.kstp.com/article/view/136068/

 

[Barking_Mad]

Airstrike Kills '40' Iraqis - Kut held by Sadr army as Ukranians withdraw

A US air strike has killed dozens of people inside a mosque during heavy fighting in the Iraqi town of Falluja, witnesses say. Some reports speak of more than 40 dead in the mainly Sunni Muslim town, but that figure has not yet been confirmed. The incident came as coalition troops fought separate uprisings by both Sunni and Shia Muslims in several towns.

The US military has vowed to "destroy" the militia of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr. Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the coalition's local HQ in the southern town of Kut, which is now reportedly under the control of Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army.....

Also reports one of Sard's aides has been killed (my edit)

......."In the central and southern regions of Iraq, the coalition and Iraqi security forces are conducting operations to destroy the Mehdi Army," US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a news conference in Baghdad. "If he [Mr Sadr] wants to calm the situation... he can turn himself in to a local Iraqi police station and he can face justice," Gen Kimmitt said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3608315.stm

 

[Gumbert]

Battles rage across Iraq

Almost 200 people have died in clashes and attacks during the last three days in battles between occupation forces and supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr in at least nine towns and cities.

Some 160 Iraqis have been killed across the country since clashes erupted on Sunday in the southern city of Najaf before fighting swept across the country.

The US military confimed it lost 12 marines in Ramadi on Tuesday when a base came under attack. It was the deadliest single strike against occupation forces since the start of the war.

The White House quickly declared that the raid would not oust forces from Iraq. US officials said there were "significant losses" to resistance fighters, but gave no further details.

During the past three days US forces have lost 31 soldiers. A Ukrainian and Salvadoran were also killed.

Battles intensified in Ramadi on Wednesday with many casualties on both sides, reported Aljazeera's correspondent.

Four Iraqis died overnight in fresh clashes between occupation soldiers and al-Sadr loyalists in al-Sadr City, a strongold of the Shia leader in a Baghdad suburb. Another three Iraqi civilians died of injuries sustained in earlier fighting.

In the southern city of Karbala, Polish troops killed the head of al-Sadr's office.

Earlier, US military officials said they would "destroy" al-Sadr's al-Mahdi army. US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt also called on al-Sadr to turn himself in to face murder charges, and help end the violence.

Retreat

Beleaguered Bulgarian troops called for US reinforcements in Karbala where pitched battles have been fought. And Ukrainian forces, on their part, have pulled out of Kut, the latest southern battle front with al-Sadr supporters.

Five Iranians and three Iraqi civilians were killed when occupation soldiers opened fire on their vehicle near a checkpoint in the holy city.

Scores of Iraqi civilians have been killed and wounded by occupation fire since fighting broke out in the southern city of Najaf, before sweeping to Falluja, Ramadi, Nasiriya, Amara, Baghdad, Karbala, Kut, Kirkuk and Baquba.

And near the northern city of Kirkuk US occupation soldiers killed eight Iraqis, including a child, and injured 12 others in an exchange of gunfire during a demonstration to protest against US attacks on the besieged town of Falluja.

Some 1500 protesters in Hawija denounced what they described as the US massacres in Falluja, where almost 90 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in the past three days. US forces have sealed off Falluja for three days now in an effort to crush the resistance there.

In Baquba, a US helicopter landed "after taking fire," reported US army. There were no reports of casualties.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/660FF109-9E21-4AF8-BCA3-C39E0FE67917.htm

 

[Pickman's model]

beaten to it! are the americans still using those amazing smart bombs which never miss their target?

 

[Barking_Mad]

Where have we heard this before? Jesus Christ.....They've lost the plot. How long is it going to ktake the US troops to kill the 10,000 strong army Sadr has? And how many more have decided to join since? Plot well and truly lost.

U.S. to 'Destroy' Shiite Militia

"All the Iraqi people that are watching this understand this. It all comes down to extremism versus moderation," Kimmitt said. "The extremists want to .. take this country back to an authoritarian regime or even worse .. some sort of Talibanization of this country."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,116399,00.html