Insurgents Seize Key Town in Iraq: Al Qaeda in Iraq's Black Banner Flying From Rooftops

WP ^

[jmc1969]

Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq took open control of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, witnesses, residents and others in the city and surrounding villages said.

A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation."

Zarqawi's fighters were killing officials and civilians seen as government-allied or anti-Islamic, witnesses, residents and others said. On Sunday, the bullet-riddled body of a woman lay in a street of Qaim. A sign left on her corpse declared, "A prostitute who was punished."

By the weekend, however, Zarqawi's forces had fought back and taken control of Qaim, residents said. Accounts from the town described a rare, prolonged overt presence of the foreign fighters.

The Albu Mahal tribe as of Sunday remained in control of its village outside the city. However, a car bomb placed by Zarqawi's fighters in front of the home of a tribal leader, Sheikh Dhyad Ahmed, killed the sheikh and his son on Sunday, resident Mijbil Saied said.

A Zarqawi fighter said any Marines and Iraqi forces had left Qaim, with "nothing left of their crosses."

Shops selling CDs, a movie theater and a women's beauty parlor were newly burned, apparently targeted by Zarqawi's group under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Zarqawi's fighters had taken control of the town's hospital, one of its medical workers, Dr. Muhammed Ismail, said. The hospital's director then ordered all patients to leave, fearing the presence of Zarqawi's fighters would draw air strikes on the clinic, Ismail said.

Zarqawi fighters manned checkpoints on the four entrances to the city.

[carl in alaska]

"...we keep losing the same cities over and over again."

That's only true of a few towns on the western border near Syria. But what happens when the AQ fighters move into these towns? Every time they move in they are decimated by US Marines backed by fighter jets and helicopter gunships. This reduces their numbers further and sends a message back to their home towns that it's no fun being a terrorist in Iraq.

If we had put a lot more troops into Iraq, we would also have more contractors, more supply convoys, and more supply lines into more towns, all of which are targets for attack. There's no simple solution as McCain and other media hounds like to suggest. It's going to take time to keep pounding these insurgents and break their will to continue this fight.

[Archidamus]

Cindy Shehann and Micheal Moore might be helping our cause by giving the Jihadists hope.

[hlmencken3]

I'll just say that those who think allowing what few friends we have in that region to be killed as part of some genius rope-a-dope strategy are delusional or wicked.

[Chode]

Qaim has WON the Toss and Elected to RECEIVE!!!

[Lloyd227]

So, this was posted a little over 3 hours ago...

Is this town leveled yet and are the paving trucks in place? It's about time the games ended. We don't have time for this silly crap

[Jack Deth]

When will AQ begin to understand that the Tet Offensive was a strategic disaster?

Do another Fallujah on them.

Surround and Quarantine the city.
Call up Arty and Air
Clear the city block by block
Tighten the noose and squeeze

Jack.

[hinckley buzzard]

What I do have a problem with is our forces not being allowed to pursue the enemy in to Syria, or bombing their assembly areas there.

That is well put. The existence of sanctuaries was a great disadvantage in VietNam, and the general prohibition against hot pursuit caused us losses. We should declare the right of hot pursuit into Syria, Saudi, and Iran, and put the ball in their courts: "police your borders, or we will."

[Dog]

Interesting this takes place on the day that US and Iraqis have surrounded a section of Tal Afar and are going house to house.

Hmmmm.

[TomasUSMC]

We keep seeing the words "WESTERN IRAQ, WESTERN IRAQ this and that is happening in W e s t e r n I r a q, again and again for the upteenth time.

Why?

Three words....cee ree ah SYRIA.

Marine Maj. Nicholas Visconti, 35, of Brookfield, Conn., who served in southern Iraq in 2003. "But look at Vietnam. We killed millions, and they kept coming. It's a war of attrition. They're not trying to win. It's just like in Vietnam.

Syria is just like Laos and Cambodia in Nam. But unlike LBJ/Nixon, our own President Bush shirks from attacking these enemy sanctuaries. At least in Nam we bombed them.

Bush's lack of initiative and action against the enemy gathering constantly in Syria and coming across the borders only serves to embolden the enemy and increase our casualties. The enemy can afford to lose 20 for every American taken out because they train there people in one day and they have ONE BILLION recruits. We train our people for months and value them highly.

Take out the Syrian Regime and if necessary Syria itself
TAGLINE:

[dfwgator]

Time to go Dresden on their ass.

[TomasUSMC]

So our war fighters don't have to worry about finding and fixing the enemy now. They can just pile on and kill them.
===
The objective is not to continue to fight and kill AND sustain casualties. The objective is to Win. The enemy is very willing to trade dozens of their fighters for one of ours dead and 4 or 5 wounded.

We need to take out the rat nest that keeps breeding these terrs. Syria.

Time is not on our side, its on Persia's side. Iran.
Tagline:

[TomasUSMC]

Last year they did this in Fallujah. Now they're doing it in Qaim. Explain to me how that is not progress given that the campaign has shifted from the heart of Iraq west to the border with Syria.

---

Its not progress because we have gone back repeately to this crap hole called Qaim again and again. Taking casualties that are unnecessary. More importantly taking time. Time is not on our side. Its on Iran's side.

Syria is the problem ( as well as Iran). The enemy is using it as a sanctuary and Our President does absolutely nothing about it.

Nam Redux

[Spiff]

This won't last long.

Don't count on it. If they declare this a "holy" place, or some such crap, the PC idiots running the show over there will let it stand.

[TomasUSMC]

Dont agree with you on Iraq. I think we should keep on the offense, concentrate on destruction not rebuilding and have taken out Iran and Syria by now.

More important for me is your tagline.
I completely agree.

[TomasUSMC]

I think what we may have in this town is inter-tribal fighting .... with one of the tribes on our side.

The Albu Mahal tribe as of Sunday remained in control of its village outside the city.

[TomasUSMC]

We have to go where the enemy is.

---

x act lee.

And where the enemy is hiding, and regrouping and recovering. Syria and Iran are at the top of that list, with others not far behind.

[American in Israel]

More than 50 Iraqi Resistance fighters were taking fighting in defense of al-Qa'im, repulsing the American effort to break in....
...a field clinic in al- Karabila village has been bombed by the US occupation forces, after they had already killed at least 50 people in military operations.

Darn that took a long time, must have been quite a fight for the "Resistance", they almost made it to the first quarter. They did however kill an unarmed woman and burned a few music stores, a real military victory and a stunning success for the Jihad, I wonder if they wounded any Americans too?

If this is a great Muslim victory, let us hope they get all they can stand.

[razorback-bert]

Fresh meat!

[TomasUSMC]

screw Al-Qaim, turn Damacus into a parking lot and put an end to this BS...

---

I'm afraid that goes against the present kinder gentler compassionate teddybears4terrorist Vietnam Redux doctrine of war fighting.

And Iran loves every minute of it.

We are proceeding in Iraq as if it was the last bastion of Islamic Terrorism, when in fact it is just the tip of the Iceberg.

[Spiff]

Cindy Shehann and Micheal Moore might be helping our cause by giving the Jihadists hope.

Might be?