|
|
|
Posted on 04/04/2004 4:22:35 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
By KHALID MOHAMMED
|
|||
|
|
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.
|
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.
|
"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.
|
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.
|
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.
|
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.
I know, it seems they kill those guys by the dozen.
I imagine being a cop in training in Iraq is not a real sought after position.
Boy, for being in a city full of American hating people they sure seemed to get all this information quickly, including the ID of the actual perpetrators.
Tell me, if these so-called intellegence sources know all these details, why didn't they ID these people for the media and America to see like they do here in America. Not only that, wouldn't it help to ID these people so that our good Iraqi friends could point to where they are located or hiding?
Yeah, all those Mexicans driving planes into buildings are a real threat.
So it's only millions of Mexican's that are ignoring our laws and borders? There couldn't be hundreds, or even thousands entering with them with agendas of death?
And then you make this extremely ignorant statement like this below?
You seem unable to distinguish between military/security matters and social concerns/problems.
You obviously wouldn't know a massive security threat if walked into it face first.
Tell me Mr. Security expert, how you know that there are not north Koreans, terrorist groups, religious fanatics, communist Chinese, drug dealers, and others with agendas of death not pouring in along with the millions of Mexican's that are ignoring our laws?
Could you explain to all of us Mr. security expert how you know this? And why would an enemy NOT take advantage of this?
Bush has provided tremendous leadership in dealing with our principal danger
Then tell me Mr. security expert, why did the President fail to reform our out of control immigration policies, and secure our borders and sovereignty at midnight on 9-11?
If we are so damn concerned about the terrorist threat to America, why in hell are we allowing literally millions, from God knows where, to enter this country illegally, at will, routinely?
Those of us that are not in a coma, understand it's a national security timebomb.
Your confusion (driven by hatred) prevents you from properly distinguishing between social problems and national security problems. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.
LOL, I could have gotten a response like this from Loretta Sanchez!
Is it POSSIBLE that death dealers could infiltrate through Mexico? Sure it is. Is it probable? NO.
So literally *tons* of dangerous, illegal drugs can be brought in from Mexico, along with *millions* of people entering illegally, but it's not probable that terrorist or other bad guys could be enter along with all of this?
You betcha, justshutupandstickyourheadinthesand.
And now your basically stating that our intelligence knows everything about this attack, including the *identification* of those that committed this act.
Current information and events seem to suggest that YOU were the one out of touch with reality..
At the time of my post --- which strongly recommended prompt and vigorous military response - the military (unknown at the time) was already taking extraordinary steps to address the challenge and threat to overall force protection that the barbarity of the planned ambush represented...
The city was already being surrounded and cut off.. Plans were being developed to reenter, and deliver an "unmistakable" response to the ambush and aftermath..
Those of us with experience or an awareness of the necessity of such measures were apparently sensitive to and justified in our demand for such activity...
I was not suggesting that the war should/could be won in time for the 6pm news --- but simply calling for an immediate and forceful response to an event that DEMANDED swift and deadly consequences...
Punishment delayed, just causes confusion -- in dogs and humans....
Now, perhaps you will take your meds, calm down and simply answer the questions I put to you - to assess your superior knowledge in such matters....
Semper Fi
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
