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10 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraqi Violence (4 April, 2004)
MyWay News ^
Posted on 04/04/2004 4:22:35 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
By KHALID MOHAMMED
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(AP) A demonstrator tries to contain the crowds during an anti-American protest in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday...
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NAJAF, Iraq (AP) - Supporters of an anti-American cleric rioted in four Iraqi cities Sunday, killing eight U.S. troops and one Salvadoran soldier in the worst unrest since the spasm of looting and arson immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The U.S. military on Sunday reported two Marines were killed in a separate "enemy action" in Anbar province, raising the toll of American service members killed in Iraq to at least 610.
The rioters were supporters of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They were angry over Saturday's arrest on murder charges of one of al-Sadr's aides, Mustafa al-Yacoubi, and the closure of a pro-al-Sadr newspaper.
Near the holy city of Najaf, a gunbattle at a Spanish garrison killed at least 22 people, including two coalition soldiers - an American and a Salvadoran.
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(AP) Supporters of al-Sadr's self-styled militia, the al-Mahdi Army, walk towards Kufa, Iraq, Sunday...
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Fighting in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City killed seven U.S. soldiers and wounded at least 24, the U.S. military said in a written statement. A resident said two Humvees were seen burning in the neighborhood, and that some American soldiers had taken refuge in a building. The report could not be independently confirmed, and it was unclear whether the soldiers involved were those who died.
A column of American tanks was seen moving through the center of Baghdad Sunday evening, possibly headed toward the fighting.
The military said the fighting erupted after members of a militia loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took control of police stations and government buildings in the neighborhood.
Protesters clashed with Italian and British forces in other cities in a broad, violent challenge to the U.S.-led coalition, raising questions about its ability to stabilize Iraq ahead of a scheduled June 30 handover of power to Iraqis.
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(AP) American special forces join coalition soldiers as the Spanish base comes under attack outside...
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With less than three months left before then, the U.S. occupation administrator appointed an Iraqi defense minister and chief of national intelligence. "These organizations will give Iraqis the means to defend their country against terrorists and insurgents," L. Paul Bremer said at a press conference.
About three miles outside the holy city of Najaf, supporters of al-Sadr opened fire on the Spanish garrison during a street protest that drew about 5,000 people. The protesters were angry over the arrest of the cleric's aide, said the Spanish Defense Ministry in Madrid.
The attackers opened fire at about noon, said Cmdr. Carlos Herradon, a spokesman for the Spanish headquarters in nearby Diwaniyah.
The Spanish and Salvadoran soldiers inside the garrison fired back, and assailants later regrouped in three clusters outside the base as the shooting continued for several hours.
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(AP) American soldiers take cover as the Spanish base comes under attack outside Kufa, 15 kms north of...
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Two soldiers - a Salvadoran and an American - died and nine other soldiers were wounded, the Spanish defense ministry said. No other details were available. More than 200 people were wounded, said Falah Mohammed, director of the Najaf health department. El Salvador's defense minister said several Salvadoran soldiers were wounded.
The death toll of at least 20 included two Iraqi soldiers who were inside the Spanish base, witnesses said.
Spain has 1,300 troops stationed in Iraq, and the Central American contingent is of a similar size. The Salvadorans are under Spanish command as part of an international brigade that includes troops from Central America.
Multiple train bombings in Madrid last month that killed 191 people have been blamed on al-Qaida-linked terrorists, who said they were punishing Spain for its alliance with the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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(AP) A Salvadorean soldier runs for cover as his base comes under attack outside Kufa, 15 kms north of...
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Spain's new government, elected just days after the March 11 train bombings, has promised to make good on its pre-election promise to withdraw all Spanish troops from Iraq unless command for peacekeeping is turned over to the United Nations. In El Salvador, the defense minister said the attack will not alter his country's role in reconstruction efforts.
"It reinforces even more our decision to continue helping a country that is suffering," Juan Antonio Martinez said Sunday.
The protesters were upset over the detention of al-Yacoubi, a senior aide to the 30-year-old al-Sadr, who opposes the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Al-Sadr is at odds with most Shiites, who hope to gain substantial power in the new Iraqi government.
Shiites comprise about 60 percent of Iraq's 25 million people but were brutally repressed by the regime of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim.
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(AP) An American soldier runs for cover as the Spanish base comes under attack outside Kufa, 15 kms...
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At coalition headquarters in Baghdad, a senior official said on condition of anonymity that al-Yacoubi was detained Saturday on charges of murdering Abdel-Majid al-Khoei, a senior Shiite cleric who returned to Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion. A total of 25 arrest warrants were issued, and 13 suspects have been arrested, the official said. Spanish-led forces said they did not participate in the arrest.
In central Baghdad's Firdaus Square, police fired warning shots during a protest by hundreds of al-Sadr supporters against al-Yacoubi's arrest. At least two protesters were injured, witnesses said.
In Kufa, near Najaf, al-Sadr supporters took over a police station and seized guns inside. No police were in sight.
In the southern city of Nasiriyah, Italian troops traded fire with militiamen demonstrating against al-Yacoubi's detention, said Lt. Col. Pierluigi Monteduro, chief of staff of Italian troops in the region. One Italian officer was wounded in the leg.
Also in the south, British troops clashed with protesters in Amarah, according to the Ministry of Defense in London. It was unclear whether there were casualties.
Al-Sadr's office in Baghdad issued a statement later Sunday calling off street protests and saying the cleric would stage a sit-in at a mosque in Kufa, where he has delivered fiery weekly sermons for months.
Al-Sadr supporters also were angered by the March 28 closure of his weekly newspaper by U.S. officials. The Americans alleged the newspaper was inciting violence against coalition troops.
The two U.S. Marines, both assigned to the 1st Marine Division, were killed by an "enemy action" in Anbar province Saturday, the military said. One died Saturday and the other Sunday, the statement said without providing details.
Anbar is an enormous stretch of land reaching to the Jordanian and Syrian borders west of Baghdad that includes Fallujah, a city where four American civilian contractors were slain Wednesday.
At a checkpoint in Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, that was manned by Iraqi Civil Defense personnel, a bomb killed three security officers and wounded another, workers at Samarra General Hospital said.
In Kirkuk, also in the north, a car bomb exploded, killing three civilians and wounding two others, police said.
Bremer on Sunday announced the appointments of Ali Allawi, the interim trade minister, as the new defense minister and Mohammed al-Shehwani, a former Iraqi air force officer who fled Iraq in 1990, as head of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service.
Late Sunday, U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and a team that will assist Iraqis in the political transition to an interim Iraqi government arrived in Baghdad, the United Nations said.
TOPICS: Front Page News; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alsadr; alyacoubi; casualties; fallen; iraq; najaf; religionofpieces; sadrcity
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To: Blood of Tyrants
You cannot meet savagery with civility. Precisely. ....and the results are predictable. Any attempt to convince the Muslim world that we're "really nice guys" and that they should jump on the America-led civilization bandwagon rather than continue to live in poverty and ignorance is simply doomed to failure, and I have a great piece of land in Gaza to sell to anyone who believes otherwise.
The only language the Muslim world is capable of understanding is the language of overwhelming military power and the will to use it, so pussyfooting around and worrying about our image is worse than an utter waste of time -- it's dangerous.
To: MEG33
One note,only one note.Are you referring to our own borders?
Do you really think your going to kill all those that hate worldwide? Isn't going to happen friend.
Would it not make sense to protect ourselves here at home? We are so concerned about terrorism, yet hundreds of thousands enter this country illegally at will. Do you not see a slight discrepancy here? Our doors and windows are wide open.
If you have groups of people that are trying to kill your entire family, would you not lock your doors and windows to your home? Would you not do everything in your power to protect your home and family?
Or would you allow anyone to enter that happened by?
122
posted on
04/04/2004 7:21:28 PM PDT
by
Joe Hadenuf
(I failed anger management class, they decided to give me a passing grade anyway)
To: Happy2BMe
I want strafing.
123
posted on
04/04/2004 7:21:37 PM PDT
by
StarCMC
(Kalen is home!!! Kalen is home!!! Thank you for all your prayers and support!!)
To: jackbill
One of the things that is pissing me off is the constant blather that it will take years to train Iraqis. In 1952, I received 16 weeks basic training and was sent to Korea as a heavy weapons infantryman. What takes so long?From someone on the ground in Iraq who knows (not a member of the mainstream press w/ anti-American Iraqi sources):
"i just ran across this today, and oddly enough just this morning i was at the ICDC camp here at camp freedom and took some shots for my xanga - i watched the instructors drill them and punish them and reward them, and the trainees were just as motivated as any troops i have seen."
9 posted on 02/21/2004 3:35:16 PM EST by tat2jay
~ tat2jay = Sgt. Justin Harris, US Army Photographer:
More on the courageous Iraqi security forces:
~ ICDC in Baghdad ~ AP | 2/26/04:
8 CPA Briefing ~ 2/11/04 | Daniel Senor, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, Dr. Hamid Kifa'i
Most of our press is not on our side.
124
posted on
04/04/2004 7:21:57 PM PDT
by
Ragtime Cowgirl
(Just $5/mo:THWART ENEMIES*SUPPORT OUR TROOPS!*http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1109539/posts)
To: pickemuphere
Don't you get it? There isn't going to be any "Fallujah thing." You're kidding, right ? ...
125
posted on
04/04/2004 7:22:05 PM PDT
by
MeekOneGOP
(Become a monthly donor on FR. No amount is too small and monthly giving is the way to go !)
Prayers for their families ...
To: Joe Hadenuf; Lead Moderator
I'm trying to get this thread pulled.
I posted it and want it pulled.
127
posted on
04/04/2004 7:22:35 PM PDT
by
Happy2BMe
(U.S.A. - - United We Stand - - Divided We Fall - - Support Our Troops - - Vote BUSH)
To: MeekOneGOP; All
Where in a world is our response and our forces!!! Where in a world is promise of attack!!! To avenge our own.
I wish I could use words differently, but not this week, I made a promise and I will keep it. There are other ways to show total outrage of what is going on.
I am so disgusted with this political nonsense, I have to take a rest, I am fuming and holding.
God Bless you all, soldiers are dying and politicians are just talking. I am Tired of it.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To: MeekOneGOP
Oh God, I feel miserable when I hear news like these. I can't help it. I wish all this would end tomorrow.
May God bless our troops, Guide them, and Protect them.
129
posted on
04/04/2004 7:25:53 PM PDT
by
Victoria Delsoul
(Kerry said he wasn't at the '71 plot-to-kill meeting, then, he was but voted NO, now he can't recall)
To: TomGuy; Libertina
Are we looking at another Somalia?
By the minutes passing and the lack of retribution... it's looking like a big yes. Yes we are.
WE should have had a plan for immediate reactions to expected events such as these in fallujah.
these guys, american civilians giving food aid, died in vain, without any rescue attempts... or reinforcements (of the immediate nature). help never came. Did they call for help? probably.
The military command let them fry. Period. Inexcusable.
and on whose orders? the panzy who said we will not fire if we might accidentally hit women and children? Thanks general, your fired. You just told the enemy how to keep us from killing him 98 percent of the time... with kids and women around.. WE LACK THE WILL TO FIGHT TO DEFEND OUR OWN!
Damned stupid comment to make.
Apache gunships should have been in the air 24/7, regardless of the cost, until that city was pacified... for the entire past year! Backing the coalition and the civilians attached to the war relief efforts.
The apaches should have been there in 2 minutes or less... HELL, los angeles has a more intensive sky cap of leos than fallujah... and this is in a friggin war zone with US citizens on the ground? Inexcusable.
Fallujah should have been leveled for at least three days by now.
It's not. And that means it's over. We lack the will to fight "unlimited warfare" against an enemy that HAS no such limitations. The muzzies have won in the realm of "motivation and morale."
and as a result the islamics all over the planet... are cranking up their death machines to press it even further now.
Bush is apparently unvilling to act, for fear that we will look like we are overreacting, might get slaughtered in fallujah, or receive worldwide condemnation for his war policies and thus lose the elections in November.
We started a WAR that is not over. For a peace that has not been won, or a surrender that has NOT been signed... and that we were unwilling to fight "full throttle."
All because some soft on terrorist person somewhere, wants to save the little "head stomping, aid worker burning" ten-year-olds and their demon possessed terrorist loving moms.
Crush without mercy, the enemies, or get out NOW.
"limited" warfare never won in vietnam, korea or israel...
Open the throttles Mr. Bush.
130
posted on
04/04/2004 7:26:38 PM PDT
by
Robert_Paulson2
(the madridification of our election is now officially underway.)
To: Happy2BMe
Why?
131
posted on
04/04/2004 7:26:41 PM PDT
by
Joe Hadenuf
(I failed anger management class, they decided to give me a passing grade anyway)
To: TomasUSMC
"This would only make more Iraqi's go out and get an AK-47. Those words are what got us 911. Fear."
Hi! I think you're the guy who is over there. Before I respond, I just want to say thank you for being there and defending your country. Also, no matter what your political inclinations might be, I also would caution you to respect your service oath. You seem like a nice guy and I don't want you getting in trouble.
As for my quote above, please understand that we have to get the Iraqi's themselves involved in this whole process. To simplify matters somewhat, I'll ask a question: Given the fact that a death penalty is expected, should Saddam Hussein be tried by a US military tribunal or an Iraqi court? Consider the potential fallout from having him tried and executed by the US. I hope this illustrates the political implications involved here.
Godspeed and prayers for you getting home safely.
132
posted on
04/04/2004 7:26:46 PM PDT
by
yooper
(If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there......)
To: All
Historical Link for Reference Purposes...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1109118/posts "4 From U.S. Killed in Ambush in Iraq; Mob Drags Bodies"
NYT ^
Posted on 03/31/2004 11:03:39 PM PST by Happy2BMe
April 1, 2004
"4 From U.S. Killed in Ambush in Iraq; Mob Drags Bodies"
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
133
posted on
04/04/2004 7:26:49 PM PDT
by
Cindy
To: ASOC; Happy2BMe
Prayers for your friend.Prayers for all who were lost today.
God bless our armed forces.I thank your sons for serving our country.
134
posted on
04/04/2004 7:27:45 PM PDT
by
MEG33
(John Kerry's been AWOL for two decades on issues of National Security!)
To: Robert_Paulson2
Crush without mercy, the enemies, or get out NOW. "limited" warfare never won in vietnam, korea or israel... Open the throttles Mr. Bush.I agree. But sadly, it's not going to happen.
135
posted on
04/04/2004 7:28:40 PM PDT
by
Joe Hadenuf
(I failed anger management class, they decided to give me a passing grade anyway)
To: Joe Hadenuf
We are so concerned about terrorism, yet hundreds of thousands enter this country illegally at will. Yep, and many of those illegals are Muslims. In fact, in 2002 alone about 8,000 of all illegals arrested - ones that we actually caught - were “special interest aliens.” .....which means that they were from countries with known ties to terror.
Considering these #'s, it's not unreasonable to conclude that well over 100,000 illegal Muslims have entered the U.S. since 9/11.
To: Robert_Paulson2
"We started a WAR that is not over."
WE didn't start this war.
137
posted on
04/04/2004 7:31:28 PM PDT
by
yooper
(If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there......)
To: TomasUSMC
May God be with you and guide the military to make right decisions.We are all very upset at the losses today.Thank you for serving our country.
138
posted on
04/04/2004 7:32:53 PM PDT
by
MEG33
(John Kerry's been AWOL for two decades on issues of National Security!)
To: Rokke
I know to be patient in war.
Bein' a Texan doesn't make that easy.
Yet our Houston avenged the Alamo at San Jancinto, spectacularly. After a wait that nearly made him a villain.
Texas War. It's a drinkin' sport, to be sure.
139
posted on
04/04/2004 7:33:47 PM PDT
by
txhurl
(The Jihadists: spectacular media violence, zero military significance, huge psych significance.)
To: yooper
I am retired. Not in Iraq. Sorry if I gave that impression.
When it comes to Saddam, his location should be made public to the shites, and be left unguarded. They would then have someone else to burn cut-up and hang.
We would save money, time, american lives.
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