Posted on 04/04/2004 10:01:15 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
FALLOUJA, Iraq — Thousands of Marines surrounded this anti-American stronghold early today in preparation for a complex raid to retake control of the city and apprehend those responsible for last week's slayings of four U.S. security contractors.
The highly anticipated action, dubbed Operation Valiant Resolve, was expected to be one of the biggest military offensives since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government a year ago.
All roads leading to this city of 300,000 were cut off and barricaded with tanks and concertina wire. Working through the cold and windy desert night, under a large moon, Marines set up camps for detainees and residents who might flee any fighting. Before dawn, several Marine positions were hit by mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard throughout the city.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi judge has issued a murder arrest warrant for a radical Shiite Muslim cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, for the slaying of another Shiite leader, coalition officials said Monday.
Coalition spokesman Dan Senor announced the warrant but would not say when al-Sadr would be detained. "There'll be no advance warning," he said.
Senor said the arrest warrant had been issued several months ago. He refused to say why al-Sadr had not been arrested earlier.
Al-Sadr and his supporters were responsible Sunday for some of the worst violence since the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
No, it means Britney Spears will be delayed.
Red
By Michael Georgy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. helicopter gunships opened fire as tanks rumbled through Baghdad's sprawling Shuala district Monday, but teenage militiamen with guns and knives were firmly in control when the clashes ended.
Young boys jumped up and down on a U.S. military truck that had been attacked and set ablaze in a symbolic victory for radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose militiamen are challenging U.S. forces in several cities across Iraq.
Sadr's Mehdi Army has said for months it is ready for holy war against the Americans if the order comes, and the militia displayed its zeal and organizational skills Monday in Shuala, a teeming Shi'ite area.
Officials in Sadr's local headquarters said U.S. troops backed by helicopters mounted an incursion into Shuala in the morning, firing tank-mounted machineguns from a distance.
"People came out from their homes when they saw what was happening. U.S. troops fled when a (tank) transporter in the convoy was seized and set on fire," said Sheikh Ali, carrying a pistol and wearing a "Fine Surfing Gear" sweatshirt.
"Look what they have done," he added, pointing to bullet holes in the walls of the Sadr group's office.
There was no firm word on casualties in the strike, thought to be the first of its kind inside Baghdad since the war that toppled Saddam Hussein nearly a year ago, but an anti-U.S. cleric said five people were killed and 10 wounded.
By the early afternoon, the militiamen ruled the streets, with only a few bursts of gunfire in the distance.
MILITIA WEIGHS NEXT MOVE
Inside the Sadr group headquarters, guarded by fighters behind sandbags, senior clerics from the district were consulting with the fiery cleric by telephone.
"He has handed down an order saying that we should try to calm things down but defend ourselves if we are attacked," said one man, who declined to give his name.
"When the order comes for a holy war, there will not be one American left in the street."
Outside, young teenagers with Kalashnikov rifles, long knives and clubs closed off the main road leading to where U.S. troops waited in Humvees and tanks on the edge of the district.
Older militiamen and civilians sympathetic to Sadr formed neat rows along the street, awaiting U.S. military vehicles.
Every time they showed up, the men dressed mostly in black sat in the road to block the approaching Humvees. They held up posters of their leader, yelling "Long live Moqtada."
The chain of command seems clear. Only top clerics are allowed to speak about the U.S.-led occupation or the protests and clashes that erupted in several Iraqi cities Sunday.
In a well-rehearsed line, militiamen insist they would only resort to violence to defend themselves or the Iraqi people.
In the end, a cleric walked over to the U.S. troops to negotiate. Sadr's people said the Americans had agreed to only one of a long list of demands -- that they leave Shuala.
"You see, the Americans sent someone to call for negotiations. It is a sign of weakness," said Sheikh Ali.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi judge has issued a murder arrest warrant for a radical Shiite Muslim cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, for the slaying of another Shiite leader shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of the country, coalition officials said Monday.
Coalition spokesman Dan Senor announced the warrant but would not say when al-Sadr would be detained. "There'll be no advance warning," he said.
The announcement of the warrant came a day after violent clashes between militiamen loyal to al-Sadr that killed 52 Iraqis, eight U.S. soldiers and a Salvadoran soldier — some of the worst gunbattles since the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
Since the violence, al-Sadr has been holed up in a mosque in the city of Kufa, south of Baghdad, surrounded by armed supporters.
Senor said the arrest warrant had been issued several months ago. He refused to say why al-Sadr had not been arrested earlier.
Al-Sadr is accused in the slaying of Abdel-Majid al-Khoei, a rival Shiite cleric who was stabbed to death by a mob at a Shiite shrine in the city of Najaf in April.
A total of 25 arrest warrants have been issued in the case, and 13 suspects have been taken into custody. Sunday's violence in Baghdad and other cities was sparked by the arrest last week of Mustafa al-Yacoubi, a senior aide to al-Sadr, on one of the warrants.
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