Posted on 09/11/2004 10:50:33 PM PDT by TexKat
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Heavy fighting erupted on Sunday in a street in central Baghdad notorious as a guerrilla stronghold, and witnesses said at least five Iraqis were killed as U.S. helicopters attacked targets in the area.
One U.S. Bradley fighting vehicle could be seen on fire amid the fighting in the Haifa Street area.
The gunfire flared as more than a dozen explosions shook central Baghdad at dawn on Sunday and thick plumes of smoke rose above the Green Zone compound housing Iraq 's interim government and assembly and the U.S. and other embassies.
Get Some!
RPG?
An Iraqi boy throws a stone on a burning US Bradley during clashes in Haifa Street in the heart of the Iraqi capital. Heavy fighting between US troops and insurgents erupted in area which is considered a onetime bastion of support for Saddam Hussein, where insurgents and the US military regularly skirmish amid a landscape of high rise apartment buildings.(AFP/file/Marwan Naamani)
Time to level it.
Also, a roadside bomb hit a Bradley fighting vehicle, lightly wounding four soldiers who remaineed with their unit after the attack.
Atomic Activity in North Korea Raises Concerns (latest edition notes 2.5 mile diameter mush. cloud)
BAGHDAD (AFP) - US helicopters fired off missiles and insurgents danced around a burning tank as the US military and gunmen battled for nearly three hours in central Baghdad.
At least five corpses lay in the street, an AFP reporter witnessed.
The fighting broke out after a suspected car bomb exploded around 4:40 am Sunday (0040 GMT) on western Baghdad's Haifa street, considered a onetime bastion of support for Saddam Hussein, where insurgents and the US military regularly skirmish, a US military source said.
The sound of heavy machine gun fire and Kalashnikovs reverberated for three hours from Haifa street, home to a nightmare urban war terrain of high-rise apartment buildings, perfect for snipers.
The fighting climaxed shortly after 8 am, when an angry mob pelted a burning US tank with stones and danced around the armoured vehicle, an eyewitness said.
A pair of US helicopters then swooped down over the neighborhood and fired off missiles and heavy machine-gun fire at the mob, causing the crowd to run, an AFP reporter witnessed.
One of the mob was waving a black flag, emblazoned with the name Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War), the organisation of suspected Al-Qaeda operative Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi.
The US aircraft fire left at least five corpses scattered on the ground.
Just east of Haifa street, insurgents fired mortar shells Sunday morning into the Green Zone, the US and Iraqi government headquarters in Baghdad, a US military source said, but there was no word on casualties.
Insurgents frequently shell the Green Zone with mortars.
A supporter of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi plants his flag in the barrel of the 25 mm cannon of a burning U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle at Haifa Street in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday Sept. 12, 2004. Fighting broke out early in the morning between U.S. troops and insurgents and lasted for nearly 90 minutes as U.S. soldiers fired from positions behind walls and trees along Haifa Street. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
As the Americans withdrew, jubilant fighters and young boys swarmed around the burning vehicle, dancing and cheering. Several young men placed a black banner of al-Qaida-backed Tawhid and Jihad, led by terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in the barrel of the Bradley's main gun.
Suddenly, a U.S. Apache attack helicopter swooped down and opened fire around the Bradley. Witnesses said several people, including a correspondent for the Arabic language Al-Arabiya television station, were killed.
Not to sound like a grim reaper, but I've been waiting for our boys to do this. As soon as we leave the area these clowns start jumping for joy on the remains of our vehicles. What better time to come in and do a little clean up?
Isn't this "our" station?
We need to identify each and every one of these kids and put them into some kind of education program where they learn what Saddam and his ilk did to their country, their people, and what America is doing for them now. Iraqi govt. should do this asap. It's a no-brainer.
No, "ours" is Al Hurra.
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