Posted on 08/12/2004 3:31:54 AM PDT by BlackVeil
KUT, Iraq (AFP) - Heavy overnight US bombing of Kut killed 75 people and wounded nearly 150, adding to 24 hours of violence which left 165 people dead and nearly 600 wounded across the country.
Iraq's health ministry said Thursday the dead included 44 in Baghdad clashes, 25 in the fighting at the holy city of Najaf, 14 in Amara and seven in Diwaniya, as well as the casualties in Kut.
Kut hospital director Khader Fadal Arar said many of the dead and wounded were women and children.
"We have 75 killed and 148 wounded, according to what the hospitals in Kut have told us," said spokeswoman May Abdul Karim.
Police Colonel Salam Fakhri said the bombing started at 1:00 am (2100 GMT Wednesday) and lasted until 3:00 am.
"The bombing was concentrated in the al-Sharkia district as the US military felt there were a lot of Shiite militiamen in that area. It also has an office of Moqtada Sadr," he said.
The bombing followed a day of fierce clashes between Iraqi police and Sadr loyalists in which at least two national guardsmen and three policemen were wounded.
On Wednesday, Iraqi police and security forces battled insurgents who attacked Kut's city hall, police stations and national guard barracks, the Polish-led force in the area said in a statement.
There were casualties on both sides, it said, without specifying a toll.
The cleric's private Mehdi Army has also been locked in eight days of bitter fighting in the holy city of Najaf, west of Kut, where a major US offensive backed by Iraqi security forces to flush them out began Thursday.
US warplanes led an assault on the heart of Najaf Thursday after US troops and Iraqi forces sealed entrances to the Imam Ali mausoleum in the old city as hundreds of residents fled.
At least five civilians were killed and six militiamen injured, according to Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani, spokesman for Sadr, who claimed that the cleric's militia had destroyed at least two US armoured vehicles and killed several soldiers in the fighting.
"We are pounding the American positions with mortars and Katyusha rockets," said Shaibani.
There was no immediate comment from the US military.
The sound of explosions and heavy artillery rocked the inner sanctum of Najaf as US warplanes whizzed overhead, an AFP correspondent reported from inside the mausoleum.
The few reporters who were able to venture to the shrine had to raise their arms in the air and shout "journalists, journalists," as they ran down the empty streets.
Shops were shuttered as a few hundred armed militiamen fanned out in the plaza outside the golden-domed shrine, one of the holiest sites for Shiites worldwide.
Every now and then fighters would leave their weapons outside the shrine and go in for a short break or a drink of iced water.
Mosques were urging fighters over loudspeakers to stand tall and defend the city.
"God bless our courageous mujahedin (holy fighters)," they said.
"God, here we come to you, Imam Ali, here we come to you."
Hundreds of residents carrying bare essentials like foam mattresses and bags of food were seen fleeing the old city as US tanks were positioned on main roads leading to the shrine.
US forces, backed by Iraqi security forces, appeared to have mounted a pincer movement seeking to trap the Mehdi Army inside the heart of the city.
At least three Bradley fighting vehicles were seen at the southern entrance to the shrine and residents were being urged on loudspeakers to leave the old city.
The other main entrances leading to the shrine could not be approached amid fierce fighting, but residents said they saw a large contingent of US forces closing in on the area from early Thursday morning.
A statement from the Marines here on Wednesday said they were preparing for "major assaults on Najaf", as Sadr pressed loyalists to fight to the end, regardless of whether he was killed or captured.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi issued a statement assuring that the holy shrine would remain safe from all attacks and said he had not approved the entry of multinational forces into the Imam Ali.
Good start.
Level the "holiest site in all of islam repeat ad nauseum" mosque and be done with it.
"Kut hospital director Khader Fadal Arar said many of the dead and wounded were women and children".
Don't forget puppies, and kittens killed! I hate these lying B@stards!!! Haji's are everywhere in that town.
Well boys, there is his name and place of employment. I would hope they arrest him by days end!
LLS
Casualty reports where the ratio of dead to wounded is very far from 1 dead to every 4 or 5 wounded are usually wrong.
I come from an era where we attempted to gage our success with "body counts" and ended up loosing the war and our national spirit. Too spooky!
Yes, I agree.
It's time to get the job done: capture or kill Sadr. Nothing else will get the job done, whatever the body counts are purported to be.
75 Dead.
Come on, we can do better than that.
Practice, practice, practice.
It didnt take long to claim many of the dead were women and children. The Mujahadin have been asking for this for a while, Give them their request. That Golden Domed Mosque should be a great target for an early morning bomb.
Since they whine so much about it being holy, do we have any tactical neutron bombs we can dump on the stupid shrine?
"There was no immediate comment from the US military."
Doesn't sound like this "body count" thing comes from us.
At least not in this article.
I'm betting the OVER!
I'm more of a 'how many allowed to live' guy. I'd even go into double digits if pushed.
We could always get Janet Reno and the ATF to surround'em.
Personally, I thought this was the funniest line in the whole article.
It certainly makes it easy for a rifleman to know who the enemy is, doesn't it?
Understand:
"Women" --- any body without a full beard (mustache doesnt count, even some women have 'em)
"Children" --- anybody under the age of 25, or still with all their teeth.
Accordingly, 95% of the casualties, being beardless or 18-to-25 year-old bodies, were in that category.
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