Posted on 03/31/2004 5:36:26 AM PST by Happy2BMe
Four 'foreign nationals' gunned down in Iraq
31/03/2004 - 10:18:38 AM
At least four people, thought to be foreign nationals, were killed when their vehicles came under fire in the Iraqi town of Fallujah today.
Eye witnesses said angry crowds dragged the bodies through the streets, dismembered them and hanged some of the mutilated corpses.
The attack happened at about the same time as a bomb exploded under a US military in the Fallujah region, killing five soldiers.
It was not known whether the two incidents were related.
The gunmen attacked the civilians as they drove by in two civilian 4x4 cars in Fallujah.
The occupants of the cars were killed and their vehicles were set on fire.
Footage from Associated Press Television News showed a charred body of one of the dead men, and the vehicles in flames nearby. Some of the men were wearing flak jackets, said Safa Mohammedi, a resident.
Another resident, Abdul Aziz Mohammed, said angry crowds dragged the bodies through the streets, dismembered them and hanged some of the mutilated corpses.
“The people of Fallujah hanged some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep,” Mohammed said. “I saw it myself.”
One resident displayed what appeared to be dog-type tags taken from one body. Residents also said there were weapons in the targeted cars.
The explosive device that killed the American soldiers blew up when their vehicle ran over it in the Fallujah area, US Army Colonel Jill Morgenthaler said in Baghdad.
Ah, yes. The religion of Peace.
What a great place to test a tactical nuke.
In a separate attack one year after the U.S.-led war on Iraq that overthrew Saddam Hussein, five American soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb was detonated beside their convoy west of Baghdad, the U.S. army said.
The Falluja violence began when two four-wheel-drive vehicles were attacked by guerrillas on a main road in the town, 32 miles west of Baghdad. A crowd then set the vehicles ablaze and hurled stones into the burning wreckage.
Television pictures showed one incinerated body being kicked and stamped on by a member of the jubilant crowd, while others dragged a blackened body down the road by its feet.
The footage showed at least three people lying dead, while some witnesses said that four were killed. It was not clear how many people were in the vehicles.
As one body lay burning on the ground, an Iraqi came and doused it with petrol, sending flames soaring. At least two bodies were tied to cars and pulled through the streets, witnesses said.
"This is the fate of all Americans who come to Falluja," said Mohammad Nafik, one of the crowd surrounding the bodies.
Some body parts were pulled off and left hanging from a pole, while two incinerated bodies were later strung from a bridge over the road and left dangling there.
It was unclear who was traveling in the vehicles, both four-wheel drives of the type used by foreign contractors, journalists, civilian members of the U.S.-led coalition and some military personnel. Witnesses said they saw anywhere between four and eight people in the cars before they were attacked.
Some of the victims were wearing civilian clothes, flak jackets and were armed, witnesses said, but that was not clear from the television footage. One of those killed had fair hair and was wearing khaki trousers and a white T-shirt.
As the victims lay burning, a crowd of around 150 men chanted "Long live Islam" and "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Greatest") while flashing victory signs.
I have no interest in such a "god". It is time.
Children point to a body part, tied to a brick and hanging from a telephone cable, after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. A crowd of cheering Iraqis dragged charred and mutilated bodies through the streets of Falluja on Wednesday after an attack on two vehicles that witnesses said killed at least three foreigners. (Ali Jasim/Reuters) 
ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUALS COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH AND INJURY Children point to a body part, tied to a brick and hanging from a telephone cable, after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. A crowd of cheering Iraqis dragged charred and mutilated bodies through the streets of Falluja on Wednesday after an attack on two vehicles that witnesses said killed at least three foreigners. REUTERS/Ali Jasim 
An Iraqi watches a vehicle burn after an attack in the restive town of Falluja, March 31, 2004. A crowd of cheering Iraqis dragged charred and mutilated bodies through the streets of Falluja on Wednesday after an attack on two vehicles that witnesses said killed at least three foreigners. The crowd set the two four-wheel-drive vehicles ablaze after the attack and threw stones into the burning wreckage. (Salman Amer/Reuters) 
ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUALS COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH AND INJURY Iraqis drag the body of a man after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. Insurgents attacked two cars and set them on fire, burning several passengers and dragging one body outside, dancing around it and making the victory sign, witnesses said. REUTERS/Reuters Video News 
An Iraqi man looks at a sport utility vehicle on fire after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. Insurgents attacked two cars and set them on fire, burning several passengers and dragging one body outside, dancing around it and making the victory sign, witnesses said. REUTERS/Mohammed Khodor 
Iraqis cheers as a vehicle burns after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. Insurgents attacked two cars and set them on fire, burning several passengers and dragging one body outside, dancing around it and making the victory sign, witnesses said. REUTERS/Mohammed Khodor 
An Iraqi man looks at a sport utility vehicle on fire after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. Insurgents attacked two cars and set them on fire, burning several passengers and dragging one body outside, dancing around it and making the victory sign, witnesses said. REUTERS/Salman Amer Waste the whole damned lot of 'em.
...now.
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