Iraqis Drag Four Corpses Through Streets

AP ^ | March 31, 2004 | SAMEER N. YACOUB

[Charles Henrickson]

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Jubilant residents dragged the charred corpses of four foreigners — one a woman, at least one an American — through the streets Wednesday and hanged them from the bridge spanning the Euphrates River. Five American soldiers died in a roadside bombing nearby.

The four foreigners were killed in a rebel ambush of their SUVs in Fallujah, a Sunni Triangle city about 35 miles west of Baghdad and scene of some of the worst violence on both sides of the conflict since the beginning of the American occupation a year ago.

It was reminiscent of the 1993 scene in Somalia, when a mob dragged the corpse of a U.S. soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation.

In one of the bloodiest days for the U.S. military this year, five 1st Infantry Division soldiers died when their military vehicle ran over a bomb in a separate incident 12 miles to the northwest, among the reed-lined roads running through some of Iraq's richest farmland.

Residents said the bomb attack occurred in Malahma, 12 miles northwest of Fallujah, where anti-U.S. insurgents are active. U.S. Marines operate in the area, but it was unclear whether the slain troops were Marines.

Chanting "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans," residents cheered after the grisly assault on two four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles, which left both in flames. Others chanted, "We sacrifice our blood and souls for Islam."

Associated Press Television News pictures showed one man beating a charred corpse with a metal pole. Others tied a yellow rope to a body, hooked it to a car and dragged it down the main street of town. Two blackened and mangled corpses were hung from a green iron bridge across the Euphrates.

"The people of Fallujah hanged some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep," resident Abdul Aziz Mohammed said. Some of the corpses were dismembered, he said.

Beneath the bodies, a man held a printed sign with a skull and crossbones and the phrase "Fallujah is the cemetery for Americans."

APTN showed the charred remains of three slain men. Some were wearing flak jackets, said resident Safa Mohammedi.

One resident displayed what appeared to be dog tags taken from one body. Residents also said there were weapons in the targeted cars. APTN showed one American passport near a body and a U.S. Department of Defense identification card belonging to another man.

U.S. military officials in Washington said the situation was still confused but they did not think the victims were American soldiers and believed the SUVs were not American military vehicles.

Witnesses said the two vehicles were attacked with small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.

Hours after the attack, the city was quiet. No U.S. troops or Iraqi police were seen in the area.

Fallujah is in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where support for Saddam Hussein was strong and rebels often carry out attacks against American forces.

In nearby Ramadi, insurgents threw a grenade at a government building and Iraqi security forces returned fire Wednesday, witnesses said. It was not clear if there were casualties.

Also in Ramadi, a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. convoy, witnesses said. U.S. officials in Baghdad could not confirm the attack.

On Tuesday in Ramadi, one U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded in a roadside bombing, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.

Northeast of Baghdad, in the city of Baqouba on Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew up explosives in his car when he was near a convoy of government vehicles, wounding 14 Iraqis and killing himself, officials said.

The attacked convoy is normally used to transport the Diala provincial governor, Abdullah al-Joubori, but he was elsewhere at the time, said police Col. Ali Hossein.

On Tuesday, a suicide bombing outside the house of a police chief in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed the attacker and wounded seven others.

A bomb exploded late Tuesday in a movie theater that had closed for the night. Two bystanders were wounded by flying glass, said its owner, Ghani Mohammed.

The latest violence came two days after Carina Perelli, the head of a U.N. electoral team, said better security is vital if Iraq wants to hold elections by a Jan. 31 deadline. The polls are scheduled to follow a June 30 transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi government.

Top U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer said Tuesday he had appointed 21 anti-corruption inspectors general to government departments to try to prevent fraud. More will be named in coming days, he said.

The inspectors will work with two other newly formed, independent agencies. Together, they will "form an integrated approach intended to combat corruption at every level of government across the country," Bremer said.

[Maine For Bush]

Can someone please tell me why our military is not providing cover for these innocent American civilian workers? "You want to drive through a hostile town? Sure, no problem!"

[CatoRenasci]

I hope and pray you are right.

Mere death is too good for this scum. Those who can be identified as having been involved in any way, including the children who mutilated or attacked the corpses, should be roasted alive, basted with pig fat.

[WOSG]

"Pulling out of that damn country would be a good idea. "

A marvellous way to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

Jeez, so many 'smart' people are being 'played' here. And here we were, tut-tuting *Spain* for doing the same thing! Get a clue folks. The Fallujah a-holes hate us because they loved Saddam - his tyranny, his evil, his anti-western regime - but most of all because he let the sunnis be on top of that stinkin' hellhole of a country. Well, now the shoe's on the other foot, and the remnants of saddams regime have ONE HOPE LEFT: THAT AMERICA DOES SOMETHING STUPID LIKE WE DID SO MANY TIMES IN THE CLINTON ADMIN AND CAVE IN WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH.

They acted disgracefully. It doesnt reflect poorly on us or our military. It was a disgrace to Iraq, though. But the intent was/is to intimidate and to get 'psyched out' is to give the barbarians and undeserved victory.

So, 4 unfortunate souls died. On top of the 500 or so previous in this effort to clean out a terrorist-lovin' WMD-building genocidal maniac. It was a good idea to liberate Iraq, well executed, and has brought tremendous success, despite the cost in lives.

These barbarians -(root:Barber, ie, the muslims who took prisoners of Americans, until our marines stomped into tripoli in 1804) - these barbarians want to intimidate us into caving and running scared. Or excalating it so they can call it a "Holy War" and get more muslims on their side of tyranny and hate.

LET'S NOT PLAY THAT GAME. WE WIN IF WE PLAY OUR GAME, NOT THEIRS.

And our game is to turn Iraq from a tyranny into a democracy that will be peaceful with its neighbors and with us, and will NOT be a haven for terrorists.

[RobRoy]

"Mere death is too good for this scum. Those who can be identified as having been involved in any way, including the children who mutilated or attacked the corpses, should be roasted alive, basted with pig fat."

I don't want revenge. I just want them stopped. Killing them is the simplest, but perhaps most problomatic solution in the long run. Now I am under the impression that if we kill them and then do the "pig fat" thing, it will drastically reduce the chances of re-occurance of this kind of problem.

I see them as wild animals who must be dealt with as wild animals. When a mountain lion attacks a hiker, we don't want revenge, we simply want the animal put down so others can hike in peace.

This particular animal (any radical islam hotbed) simply needs to be "put down."

[TomasUSMC]

Hours after the attack, the city was quiet. No U.S. troops or Iraqi police were seen in the area.

It should have been " Hours after the attack, the city was bombarded by B52 bombers which destroyed 1000 homes, destroyed all bridges. This was followed by 1000 rounds of Tank Fire. Latest reports show no resistance and plans to remove the entire population of the city to a desert prison camp are proceeding without incident.

[CatoRenasci]

Indeed. But simply killing them doesn't properly impress the others, especially those who believe the martyrdom propaganda. Of course, making sure they cannot achieve paradise through the use of pig fat, pig skins, entrails or the like, will make a lasting impression on those who are considering making their reservations for 72 virgins.

We should probably want a bit of revenge, just to let them know we're serious. But, generally, we should just exterminate the animals who won't behave.

[kinghorse]

That'll come. I thought this would work out in the end but alas the powers to be in the world are lining up to challenge the USA.

OPEC is cutting production. Whatever their flimsy excuse, the real purpose is to get George W. Bush defeated at the polls this fall by tankng the US economy with a huge oil tax.

Major world upheaval is in the offing. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor over such policies. I can see the USA squaring up against Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and the rest of the Opeckers in a huge ass war to settle this little difference of political ideals. Especially since it appears OPEC has taken to influencing US elections.

[CatoRenasci]

No point in wasting expensive tank rounds. MRLS and tube artillery can be used to great effect here.

A Cathagenian Peace for Fallujah!

[WOSG]

"Plus, let's not forget the unspoken reasons for going into Iraq:

-- To secure locations for long-term US bases in the heart of the Islamofascists.
-- To put the fear of Allah into the governments of Syria and Iran among others.
-- To entice the terrorists to wage their battles in Iraq rather than here.
-- To, and this is a tough one, to hopefully develop a democratic Iraqi government that can take hold. Freedom and democracy have a way of spreading over time.

We all must remember and realize that this war on terror is really a World War that will take years and perhaps decades to wage."


well said.

[Joe Hadenuf]

"When these Iraqi civilians were brutally mutilating our people in the streets, in *broad day light* where were all these Iraqi civilians that are suppose to be our friends?"

Probably at work or at home taking care of the kids. The ones that like us don't generally hang around with the nutcases.

Oh I see, while this is going on in broad day ligh, in the streets, our Iraqi good friends are working and taking care of the kids huh? Didn't you see images of some of those people that were beating the dead bodies of American's in the streets? In broad day light? Their kids were among them, damit!

[germanicus]

The absence of a full-scale military attack on these butchers while they danced around only encourages them. The US response should have been to cut all of them into little pieces with an A-10 and say NOTHING MORE! That is the only message that needs to be delivered.

Right on the money. If we continue to show a timid side dealing with aggressive civilians, we will lose.

[Jon Alvarez]

[Hollywoodghost]

I say give them what they want. Pull out and let Saddam rule as before--These jerks do not want or need democracy. Or better yet--let the Kurds rule in Baghdad. See how nice they will be to their former masters. I once read--people get the government they deserve. It looks like these murderous butchers deserve a tyrant like Saddam.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Are the Palestinian women dancing little jigs in the street, holding doritos chips to their mouths, and doing that funky Arabic yelling thing with their tongues, in sheer delight over Al Jazeera's and Lebanon TV's graphic footage of those American bodies today? I bet they ARE.

[thoughtomator]

They may have just nominated themselves as the first "Hiroshima" of the 21st century.

Who wants to be Nagasaki?

I believe the candidate for Nagasaki is called Samarra.

[Floratina]

OMG...how can human beings celebrate like that (rhetorical question)....Hell, even if we caught OBL I wouldn't dance in the street on his corpse.

Good point, I feel the same way. Now, if it was Terry Macauliffe...

(just kidding)

[Hollywoodghost]

This town looks like a great place to dump nuclear wastes. Lets see how happy the people are with radiation poisoning.
What ever we do--we need to send in MORE SOLDIERS!

[Dajjal]

BTTT

Prayers for our troops

[Redcloak]

24 hours notice? What are ya? Some kinda bleedin' heart liberal?!? 24 seconds would be quite sufficient.

[NRA2BFree]

You are absolutely right. Contrary to what our president says, ISLAM IS NOT THE RELIGION OF PEACE!!!!! (Hey GWB, I hope you saw that) They are nothing but blood-thirsty savages and we ought to be dropping napalm, MOABs, nukes, whatever it takes to exterminate the earth of them. Islam has caused nothing but grief and loss of life, and if I didn't have any kids or other worries, I'd be boarding the next plane, boat, whatever it would take, to go over there and, well, you get the idea. I'd volunteer to establish order over there!!!!

I hear you loud and clear, but our government doesn't. They're NOT listening and it makes me VERY angry. If we're going to put our soldiers in harms way, we OWE it to them to protect them at ALL COSTS!!

I'm all for helping people who want to help themselves, but these savages are beyond help. As far as I'm concerned, we need to use ALL of our resources to rid the world of these subhuman piles of crap!!! </ rant>