(Fighting around Najaf) Iraq troop numbers to stay at 138,000

CNN ^ | May 5, 2004 | Staff

[Anti-Bubba182]

"...Fighting around Najaf

U.S. forces launched a major operation in southern Iraq late Tuesday, taking over the office of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Diwaniyah, a town along the Euphrates River about 40 miles east of the holy city of Najaf.

It was the biggest operation against al-Sadr's militia since the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment arrived in the region in force last week, military officials said.

They said an AC-130 gunship fired 40 mm rounds on the building. The military said its reconnaissance indicated more than a dozen militia members armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades were inside.

The militants apparently escaped before it was struck, the officials said.

One of the 40 mm rounds hit a nearby house, setting it on fire. It was not clear if anybody was wounded inside.

One U.S. soldier at a checkpoint was shot in the abdomen when a gunman opened fire from a vehicle, officials said. The soldier's unit returned fire on the car, destroying it and killing those inside.

Al-Sadr, who is wanted by an Iraqi court in connection with the killing of a rival cleric, is believed to be holed up in Najaf with members of his militia, the Mehdi Army.

The militia launched an uprising last month against the U.S.-led coalition and its supporters in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood and Iraq's southern cities.

Earlier in the day, two U.S. soldiers were wounded near Najaf's airfield when a convoy came under attack, U.S. military officials said.

U.S. forces were moving to set up a checkpoint at the airfield when a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a tank.

The move to occupy checkpoints throughout the city followed a barrage of insurgents' mortar and small-arms fire Monday, an American commander said.

The U.S. base in Najaf came under almost steady attack by suspected members of al-Sadr's militia....."

[Anti-Bubba182]

I don't know if this is the same action or part of the same action around Karbala that was reported earlier on Fox TV.

At this point there is not much specific on the wires about either fight.

[MEG33]

Frustrating,isn't it?

[Anti-Bubba182]

Woof!! You said it!

I recall the Fox report saying they were trying hard to get an embed with the forces around Karbala. It may be there are not many reporters in the area and embeds are under strict military control, so there is not much available for the public yet.

With the reporting on Fallujah this may not be a bad idea.

[MEG33]

I trust Steve Harrigan,I don't know who those bozos were reporting so many conflicting stories on Fallujah.I agree,the more the merrier was not the case for that reporting.

[Anti-Bubba182]

There certainly were enough reports from Fallujah to make it very confusing. One problem is that the operation took long enough to draw a lot of reporters to Fallujah.

This op is like a bolt out of the blue and it looks like there is more local opposition to al-Sadr's forces as in the thread lined below from today:

Shiites form counter-militia to attack al-Sadr's army