Posted on 03/31/2004 7:04:44 AM PST by 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.
Horse crap. This event took place in *broad day light* in a city of almost one MILLION....No one came to their aid.
Spit!
Are you suggesting that we and south vietnam won? Not how I remember it buddy.
Agree WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE? The media are vermin. The UN is a JOKE. Kerry, Kennedy, Clark and Madeline Albright are traitors. They never miss a change to embolden our enemies.
The Virginian-Pilot © March 31, 2004
FALLUJAH, IRAQ - Four civilians killed in Iraq today, their burned bodies dragged through the streets after an ambush on their SUVs, worked for a Moyock, N.C., security firm that hires former military members from the United States and other countries.
Blackwater Security Consulting, based just across the Virginia-North Carolina line in Currituck County, provides security training and guard services.
"Blackwater Security Consulting can confirm that the four civilian contractors attacked and killed Wednesday in the Fallujah area were Blackwater personnel," the company said in a press release. "At this point, the exact identities of the victims are not known; however, our thoughts and prayers are with their families."
The company is a government subcontractor providing convoy security for the delivery of food in the Fallujah area, the statement said.
In a scene reminiscent of Somalia, jubilant Iraqi residents dragged two of the charred, mutilated corpses through the streets and hanged them from a bridge, an act that the United States denounced as "horrific."
The names of the four victims were not immediately released because family members had yet to be notified, U.S. officials said.
Blackwater President Gary Jackson and two other company leaders are former Navy SEAL commandos.
The company says it provides "mobile security teams" made up of former U.S. special operations forces troops or intelligence operatives. Those teams "stand ready to be deployed around the world with little notice in support of U.S. national security objectives, private or foreign interests," says the company's Web site.
Five U.S. soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division also were killed today in the same area when a bomb exploded under their M-113 armored personnel carrier, making it the bloodiest day for Americans in Iraq since Jan. 8.
The four contract workers were killed 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.
Chanting "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans," residents cheered after the grisly assault on two four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles left both SUVs in flames.
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 spanning the Euphrates River.
"The people of Fallujah hung some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep," resident Abdul Aziz Mohammed said. Some corpses were dismembered, he said.
The White House blamed terrorists and remnants of Saddam Hussein's former regime for the "horrific attacks" on the American contractors.
"It is offensive, it is despicable the way these individuals have been treated," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Referring to the planned June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis, McClellan said "the best way to honor those that lost their lives" is to continue with efforts to bring democracy to Iraq.
"There are terrorists, there are some remnants of the former regime that are enemies of freedom and enemies of democracy, but democracy is taking root and we are making important progress," McClellan added. "We will not turn back from that effort."
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the contractors, all men, "were trying to make a difference and to help others."
The abuse and mutilation of the corpses was similar to the scene more than a decade ago in Somalia, when a mob dragged corpses of U.S. soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation.
A man today held a printed sign with a skull and crossbones beneath the blackened corpses after they were pulled from the vehicles.
One body was tied to a car that had a poster in its window of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who was assassinated by the Israeli military in Gaza City.
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 an American passport near a body and a U.S. Department of Defense identification card belonging to another man.
Some of the slain contractors were wearing flak jackets, resident Safa Mohammedi said.
In Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the coalition would not be deterred from its mission to rebuild Iraq, and that numerous reconstruction projects were moving forward nationwide even though attention was focused on the attacks.
The roadside bomb that killed the five American soldiers today was in Malahma, 12 miles northwest of Fallujah, where anti-U.S. insurgents are active.
Their deaths raised the number of U.S. troops killed in March to at least 48, making it the second-deadliest month for U.S. troops since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1. The deadliest month was November, when 82 U.S. troops were killed.
In all, at least 597 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war began March 20, 2003. Of the total, 459 have died since May 1 when Bush flew onto an aircraft carrier off the California coast to declare the end of major combat.
In the deadliest previous incident this year, nine soldiers were killed Jan. 8 when their Black Hawk medevac helicopter crashed near Fallujah, apparently after being shot down.
Support for Saddam was strong in the Sunni Triangle, and rebels often carry out attacks against American forces. U.S. Marines recently took over authority in the region from the departing U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division.
In an effort to forcefully establish their presence, the newly arrived Marines have conducted numerous patrols in Fallujah and have engaged in fierce firefights with rebels. In recent months, U.S. soldiers were not seen as often in the center of town.
The Marines have said they will aggressively pursue guerrillas in Fallujah. However, no U.S. troops or Iraqi police were seen in the area after the attacks today, and the city was quiet.
In nearby Ramadi, insurgents threw a grenade at a government building and Iraqi security forces returned fire today, 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.
Northeast of Baghdad, in the city of Baqouba today, 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.
Yes, but only after they have first been killed.
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