Posted on 11/07/2004 6:42:48 AM PST by Flavius
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The government declared a 60-day state of emergency throughout most of the country Sunday, as U.S. and Iraqi forces prepared for an expected all-out assault on rebels in Fallujah. Insurgents escalated a wave of violence that has killed more than 50 people the past two days, and a U.S. soldier was killed in an attack on a convoy.
Photo AP Photo
Reuters Photo Reuters Slideshow Slideshow: Iraq
Special Coverages Latest headlines: · 12 Iraqi Guardsmen Abducted, Executed AP - 9 minutes ago · Guardsman Loses Iraq Deployment Challenge AP - 14 minutes ago · Iraq Declares Martial Law, 23 Police Killed Reuters - 21 minutes ago Special Coverage
Heavy explosions were heard in Baghdad as government spokesman Thair Hassan al-Naqeeb announced the state of emergency over the entire country except Kurdish areas in the north.
"It is going to be a curfew. It is going to be so many things, but tomorrow the prime minister will mention it," he said. Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi will give more details Monday, he said.
Al-Naqeeb declined to say whether the announcement signaled an imminent attack on the insurgent stronghold Fallujah, saying, "We have seen the situation is worsening in this area. Any obstacle will be removed."
The statement came as insurgents carried out a second day of assaults in central Iraq (news - web sites), attacking police stations, gunning down government officials and setting off bombs.
Two attacks on U.S. convoys in and around Baghdad killed one American soldier and wounded another Sunday, the military said. Residents reported grenades setting police cars aflame on Haifa Street in the heart of the city.
Also, 12 Iraqi National Guards were abducted and executed by militants dressed as policemen while traveling home to Najaf, an official with a leading Shiite party said Sunday. The men were kidnapped near Latifiyah, an area of frequent violence bout 20 miles south of Baghdad, said Abu Ali al-Najafi from the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known by its acronym SCIRI.
A car bomb also exploded near the Baghdad home of Iraq's finance minister, Adil Abdel-Mahdi, officials said. He was safe, but one of his guards was killed.
The wave of violence sweeping the troubled Sunni Triangle north and west of Baghdad, may be aimed at relieving pressure on Fallujah, where about 10,000 American troops are massing for a major assault if Allawi gives the green light.
At dawn Sunday, armed rebels launched deadly attacks against police stations in western Anbar province, killing 22 people according to police and hospital officials. At least seven of those killed were policemen, who were lined up and shot execution style.
Using bombs and small arms fire, insurgents hit three police stations in the neighboring towns of Haditha and Haqlaniyah, 137 miles northwest of Baghdad, said Capt. Nasser Abdullah of the K3 police station in Haqlaniyah.
Also Sunday, three Diyala provincial officials were gunned down south of Baghdad as they were on their way to a funeral in Karbala for a fourth colleague assassinated earlier this week. Governor's aide Jassim Mohammed was killed along with Diyala provincial council members, Shihab Ahmed and Dureid Mohammed, an Iraqi official said.
The attacks came a day after insurgents in Samarra stormed a police station, triggered at least two suicide car bombs and fired mortars at government installations. Twenty-nine people, including 17 police and 12 Iraqi civilians, were killed throughout the city, the U.S. military said. Forty others were injured.
A suicide bomber using an explosive-packed Iraqi police car rammed a U.S. convoy in Ramadi, wounding 16 American soldiers, according to the military.
Early Sunday, Marines fired a barrage of artillery at rebel positions inside Fallujah and clashed with insurgents carrying AK-47s, killing at least 16. Two U.S. soldiers were wounded at midnight at a checkpoint near Fallujah, the U.S. military said.
U.S. jets have been pounding the rebel bastion for days, launching its heaviest airstrikes in six months on Saturday — including five 500-pound bombs dropped on insurgent targets. Warplanes destroyed five weapons caches after nightfall Saturday.
In Web postings, the al-Qaida affiliate group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the attacks in Samarra, Ramadi and Baghdad. The claims could not be verified, but U.S. officials believe al-Zarqawi's group uses Fallujah as a base.
U.S. intelligence estimates there are about 3,000 insurgents dug in behind defenses and booby traps in Fallujah, a city of about 300,000 which has become a symbol throughout the Islamic world of Iraqi resistance to the U.S.-led occupation.
On Sunday, Lt. Gen. John F. Sattler, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, gave a rousing pep talk before 2,000 to 3,000 Marines at a base near Fallujah.
"You can feel the energy. You can feel the chemistry. You're going to give that to the Iraqi forces as they join that fight. God bless you, each and everyone. You know what your mission is. Go out there and get it done," he said.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) and others have warned that a military offensive could trigger a wave of violence that would sabotage the ballot.
The influential Sunni clerical Association of Muslim Scholars has threatened to call a boycott of elections if Fallujah is attacked. A public outcry over civilian casualties prompted the Bush administration to call off a siege in April, after which Fallujah fell under control of radical clerics.
The violence in Samarra underscored the difficulty of maintaining civilian authority in Sunni areas even after the worst of the fighting ebbs.
"The experience that occurred in Samarra is now being repeated again in Fallujah, and we can see that nothing was achieved in Samarra," Ayad al-Samaraei of the Sunni-led Iraqi Islamic party told Al-Jazeera television. "The situation is still as it was before" in Samarra.
"I cannot claim that entering Fallujah will end the terrorist attacks in Iraq," Iraq's national security adviser, Qassem Dawoud, told Al-Arabiya television. "But I can say that we will deal with a very big pocket of terrorism in Iraq and we will uproot it. This pocket forms the backbone and the center for terrorists in other areas in Iraq."
An Iraqi firefighter arrives to the scene of a burning vehicle after it came under attack by unknown gunmen in the center of the capital Baghdad, Nov. 7, 2004. Residents of the area said that the four-wheel drive vehicle was carrying government security officials and was set ablaze after it came under attack by a rocket propelled grenade while driving in Haifa Street,
A Syrian border official observes American troops on patrol on the Iraqi side, at the Syrian-Iraqi border of Abu Kamal, on November 6, 2004. The Arabic script (L) reads 'Welcome to Iraq (news - web sites)'. American troops closed the border gate from the Iraqi side on Thursday, Syrian officials said. The United States has accused Damascus of not doing enough to control its side of the borders with Iraq that is allowing foreign fighters to enter Iraq. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri
A U.S. Army soldier and a civilian escort a wounded Iraqi woman away from the scene of a car bomb attack, which went off outside the house of the Iraqi Finance Minister, in Baghdad, November 7, 2004. A large car bomb exploded in an attack aimed at Finance Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in central Baghdad on Sunday, but there was no immediate word on his fate, a government official told Reuters. REUTERS/Ali Jasim
The feces is about to impact the air distribution system.
"Kill 'em all and let God sort them out. He is better qualified."
I go absolutely nuts when I see photos of insurgents in Falluja loading rocket launchers. Aim a "destoyer" at them not a camera. Damn media............
raqis walk among buildings damaged by an air strike in Fallujah, Iraq (news - web sites), Sunday, Nov. 7, 2004. The Iraqi government Sunday declared a state of emergency for 60 days throughout the country except for Kurdish-run areas of the north as U.S. and Iraqi forces prepare for an expected all-out assault on rebels in Fallujah. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Iraq needs some "Untouchables". But I'm hoping they're considering arming guardsmen on and off-duty.
With all due respect if you weren't a Freeper I'd call you a fool. Your not serious are you?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.