Large Explosions Rock Central Baghdad

AP ^ | 5/25/04

[TexKat]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Thunderous explosions rocked central Baghdad on Tuesday, but the cause was unknown.

Several large blasts and some gunfire were heard about 4:15 p.m.

Police sealed off Saadoun Street, which includes the square where the statue of Saddam Hussein was hauled down April 9, 2003.

A U.S. helicopter landed in the square and evacuated at least one wounded person as American soldiers and military vehicles provided security.

[TexKat]

US soldiers and Iraqi police secure the area where a car bomb exploded outside the al-Karma hotel close to Australia's diplomatic mission in Baghdad. Up to five Iraqis were wounded, one of them critically, when a car bomb exploded outside the hotel.(AFP/Ramzi Haidar)

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim clerics stand near a blood stain after a blast at the shrine of Imam Ali in the holy city of Najaf May 25, 2004. The Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, was damaged by rockets or mortars, witnesses said -- a development likely to spark outrage among Iraq's Shi'ite majority. (Akram Saleh/Reuters)

[TexKat]

Holiest Shi'ite Shrine in Iraq Damaged in Attack

Tue May 25, 4:41 AM ET

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - The Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, was damaged on Tuesday by rockets or mortars, witnesses said -- a development likely to spark outrage among Iraq's Shi'ite majority.

One of the entrances to the shrine was damaged in the attack. It was not clear who fired the missiles. U.S. forces have been fighting Shi'ite militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf and other Shi'ite areas.

Ahmad Shebani, Sadr's representative at the shrine, said five or six missiles had hit the building. There was no immediate comment from U.S. troops.

Witnesses said three people had been wounded in the attack, none seriously.

Sadr visited the shrine after the attack to personally inspect the damage, as crowds of supporters chanted.

Earlier this month, the vast gilded dome of the shrine was damaged in fighting. The U.S. military and Sadr's militiamen blamed each other for causing the damage.

[cake_crumb]

Prayers for the wounded and families of the dead.

I continue to wonder why the press constantly tallies the number of US troops killed by "insurgents" since the end of pitched military action was declared, while completely ignoring the number of Iraqi civilians killed by those same "insurgents" during the same period of time.

Well, actually, what I wonder is why more Americans don't question the fact that the media never tallies up the number of Iraqi civilians killed by said "insurgents".

[cake_crumb]

"It was not clear who fired the missiles. U.S. forces have been fighting Shi'ite militiamen loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf and other Shi'ite areas"

Not much of a Shi'ite "cleric" then, is he?

It could also have been Sunni Ba'athists or Wahhabists, alone or in conjunction with Sadr's thugs.

[Westbrook]

It could also have been Sunni Ba'athists or Wahhabists, alone or in conjunction with Sadr's thugs.

It doesn't matter.

The "American" press will do all it can to help them pin the blame on Bush. <p.

[TexKat]

U.S. soldier rush to evacuate an injured U.S. soldier in the center of Baghdad, Iraq, after thunderous explosions in the capital, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. A U.S. helicopter landed in the square and evacuated at least one wounded person as American troops and military vehicles provided security. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim cries near blood stains inside the Imam Ali shrine in the holy city of Najaf, May 25, 2004. The Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, was damaged on Tuesday by rockets or mortars, witnesses said -- a development likely to spark outrage among Iraq's Shi'ite majority. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish

An armed militiaman takes position in the center of Najaf, Iraq, during clashes between U.S. forces and Shiite militiamen, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. The inner gate of the shrine, leading into the tomb of Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib was hit by a projectile. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A U.S. Army soldier yells at journalists to leave the site of a suspected car bomb explosion in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, May 25, 2004. The suspected car bomb exploded on Tuesday outside a Baghdad hotel used by foreigners and close to the Australian Embassy, wounding at least two people, witnesses and police said. REUTERS/Ali Jasim

Iraqis run for cover as fighting continues between U.S. forces and Shiite militiamen in the center of Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. The inner gate of the shrine, leading into the tomb of Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib was hit by a projectile. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

An Australian soldier secures the area where an apparent car bomb exploded near a hotel in central Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. Australian troops Tuesday were investigating whether Canberra's embassy in Baghdad was the target of the blast that injured five Iraqis. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

An Iraqi police officer secures the area as cars are extinguished following a car bomb outside the al-Karma hotel close to Australia's diplomatic mission in Baghdad. Twelve Iraqis were killed as clashes between US troops and Shiite militiamen left Muslims in the holy city of Najaf reeling after a mortar exploded inside Shiite Islam's holiest shrine.(AFP/Samarrai)

[cake_crumb]

Of course it will. I'm surprised they're not all bugryed and screming that it was an American mortar that hit the shrine. If Sadre's terrorists are firing from within it, while car bombing without, it follows the damage was caused by a misfired shell from within the shrine, but we know the media won't spin it that way.

[cake_crumb]

"Bugryed" and "screming"??? More coffee, please, waitor...

[TexKat]

One Hurt After Explosions Rock Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents fired rockets from an apartment house Tuesday toward a police station and other buildings in central Baghdad, triggering huge explosions and wounding at least one American soldier, witnesses and officials said.

The rockets missed the police station but hit another building and a parking lot. Hassan Joma, an Iraqi anti-terror official, said two U.S. soldiers on the roof of the building were wounded.

Police sealed off nearby Saadoun Street, which includes the square where the statue of Saddam Hussein was hauled down April 9, 2003.

A U.S. helicopter landed in the square and American soldiers were seen rushing one wounded person in an Army uniform into the aircraft.

[Poundstone]

BFD. Wipe out these Muslim terrorists.

[TexKat]

Mortar round explodes inside Iraq holy shrine, seven killed in clashes

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - The coalition and militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr traded accusations over damage to Shiite Islam's holiest shrine in Najaf as fresh fighting there killed seven and wounded 45.

A mortar round exploded inside the Imam Ali mausoleum injuring 10 people and damaging the upper part of one of the main gold-covered gates leading to the tomb of the revered imam, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

Rubble was strewn all over the blood-stained floor of the shrine as a voice over the shrine's loudspeakers condemned the attack.

"The coalition forces had no involvement in the damage to the Imam Ali mosque," Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the coalition's top military spokesman, told reporters in Baghdad.

"We have heard different reports of what caused it -- whether it was fighting between two different factions inside the city or whether it was ... Moqtada's militia firing from the cemetery onto the area of the mosque to try to provoke outrage so they can blame it on coalition forces."

The city's vast cemetery is adjacent to the shrine and black-clad militiamen have been known to use it as launching pad for attacks on US troops.

Kimmitt said US troops "will not be provoked into an incident near those shrines."

Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a Shiite member of the US-appointed Governing Council, said "occupation forces bear a special responsibility to calm the situation and respect the sanctity of Najaf's holy shrine."

A spokesman for Sadr said it was US troops that fired an Iraqi-made mortar on the shrine.

"As you know US forces put their hands on weapons that belonged to the former Iraqi army, so it could have been a mortar from this arsenal that was fired at the shrine," said Sheikh Qais al-Khazali

He dismissed accusations that members Sadr's Mehdi army may have been responsible for the attack.

"It is impossible for Shiites to do this," said Khazali. "We control the shrine area. How can we fire a mortar on ourselves?"

Since early April the Imam Ali mausoleum and the area immediately around it have been under the control of Sadr and his men who have been stockpiling weapons there to the chagrin of residents and moderate clerics.

The golden dome of the shrine was slightly damaged in fighting almost two weeks ago.

Khazali vowed that Sadr and his men will continue "resisting US occupation forces until the last drop of blood in their veins, and we will never disgrace ourselves by surrendering."

A force of more than 2,500 US troops was sent to Najaf to force Sadr, who has been branded an "outlaw" by the coalition, to answer charges relating to the murder of a rival cleric last year and to disband his militia.

Najaf's Hakim hospital said seven were killed and 45 wounded, including the 10 injured in the shrine, in Tuesday's fighting.

Calm returned to the holy city by early afternoon, following fierce clashes one kilometer (less than a mile) north of the shrine.

For more than a month, Najaf has been the scene of almost daily clashes between US troops and militiamen loyal to Sadr.

Five Iraqis were killed and 18 wounded in overnight fighting in nearby Kufa, after 32 people died in clashes there early Sunday, 20 of them in a US raid on a mosque in the town.

An armed militiaman takes up position in the center of Najaf, Iraq, during clashes between U.S. forces and Shiite militiamen, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

U.S. Army soldiers and Iraqi police officers rush to evacuate an injured U.S Army soldier in the center of Baghdad, Iraq, after thunderous explosions at the capital, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. A U.S. helicopter landed in the square and evacuated at least one wounded person as American troops and military vehicles provided security. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

Armed militiamen celebrate as they take up position in the center of Najaf, Iraq, during clashes between U.S. forces and Shiite militiamen, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. The inner gate of the shrine, leading into the tomb of Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib in Najaf appeared to be hit by a projectile Tuesday. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

Armed militiamen celebrate as they take up position in the center of Najaf, Iraq, during clashes between U.S. forces and Shiite militiamen, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. One of the most sacred shrines of Shia Islam suffered minor damage during clashed Tuesday during clashes in the area. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

A U.S.medical helicopter takes off in the center of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, May 25, 2004. Thunderous explosions rocked central Baghdad on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

[TexKat]

An Iraqi Shi'ite militiaman brandishes his rocket launcher in the streets of the holy city of Najaf, May 25, 2004. The Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, was damaged Tuesday by rockets or mortars, witnesses said -- a development likely to spark outrage among Iraq's Shi'ite majority. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish

Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen load their weapons in the holy city of Najaf May 25, 2004. The Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, was damaged Tuesday by rockets or mortars, witnesses said -- a development likely to spark outrage among Iraq's Shi'ite majority. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish

Iraqi Shi'ites chant anti-U.S slogans during a protest in the streets of the holy city of Najaf, May 25, 2004. Some one thousand Iraqi Shi'ite Muslims took to the streets of Najaf denouncing the U.S forces accusing them of being responsible of firing rockets or mortars damaged the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, a development likely to spark outrage among Iraq's Shi'ite majority. REUTERS/Akram Saleh

[1Old Pro]

Sadr visited the shrine after the attack to personally inspect the damage, as crowds of supporters chanted.

I still can't understand why we just don't off Sadr with an armed drone.

[TexKat]

Iraqi police carry away a homemade rocket launcher from an apartment block in Baghdad. The launcher was found in an air conditioning unit, after it was fired from an apartment towards a facing police station.(AFP/Ramzi Haidar)

A US soldier stands guard outside a hotel close to Australia's diplomatic mission in Baghdad where a car bomb exploded.(AFP/Ramzi Haidar)

U.S. Marines gather after an early morning formation in Camp Baharia near Falluja, Iraq (news - web sites) May 25, 2004. The United States faced misgivings from other U.N. Security Council members on Tuesday over the powers and length of stay of a U.S.-led force when authority is handed over to an Iraqi interim government on June 30. Photo by Adrees Latif/Reuters

An Iraqi Shi'ite militiaman, armed with an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade), patrols in the holy city of Najaf, May 25, 2004. Some one thousand Iraqi Shi'ites Muslims took to the streets of Najaf denouncing U.S forces accusing them of being responsible for firing rockets or mortars that damaged the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the holiest Shi'ite site in Iraq, a development likely to spark outrage among Iraq's Shi'ite majority. REUTERS/Akram Saleh

[AppyPappy]

All we need to do is attach homing devices to these photographers.

[Maringa]

These people will never appreciate what we have tried to do in Iraq. Their memories are too short, and the foreign/arab propaganda is too powerful! Even if in our own eyes, we walk out of Iraq with our objectives accomplished, our media will announce our defeat and the insurgents will claim victory. Osama will once again unleash rhetoric on how the imperialists were driven out of Iraq....

[TexKat]

All we need to do is attach homing devices to these photographers.

LOL, so true.

[dr_who_2]

There seems to be no shortage of bloodthirsty animals and gullible idiots over there.