Posted on 11/20/2005 1:14:17 PM PST by Moonman62
Edited on 11/20/2005 1:23:56 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight — some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U.S. official said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead.
Insurgents, meanwhile, killed an American soldier and a Marine in separate attacks over the weekend, while a British soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in the south.
In Washington, a U.S. official said the identities of the terror suspects killed was unknown. Asked if they could include al-Zarqawi, the official replied: "There are efforts under way to determine if he was killed."
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
American soldiers maintained control of the site, imposing extraordinary security measures, a day after a fierce gunbattle that broke out when Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers surrounded a house after reports that al-Qaida in Iraq members were inside.
Three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, the U.S. military said.
The U.S. soldier killed Sunday near the capital was assigned to the Army's Task Force Baghdad and was hit by small arms fire, the military said. The Marine, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, died of wounds suffered the day before in Karmah, a village outside Fallujah to the west of the capital.
Their deaths brought to at least 2,093 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
In the southern city of Basra, a roadside bomb killed a British soldier and wounded four others, the British Ministry of Defense said. The ministry said 98 British soldiers have died in the Iraq conflict.
The U.S. military also said Sunday that 24 people — including another American Marine and 15 civilians — were killed the day before in an ambush on a joint U.S. Iraqi patrol in Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad in the volatile Euphrates River valley.
According to the U.S. statement, the attack began Saturday with a roadside bomb detonating next to the Marine's vehicle, followed by a heavy volley of fire from insurgents.
"Iraqi army soldiers and Marines returned fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding another," the statement said.
Meanwhile, four women were killed Sunday night when gunmen stormed their home in a Christian district of eastern Baghdad, police said, adding that valuables were stolen and the motive for the attack appeared to have been robbery.
The latest deaths occurred at the end of a violent three-day period in which at least 140 Iraqi civilians died in a series of bombings and suicide attacks — most targeting Shiite Muslims.
The victims included 76 people who died Friday in near-simultaneous suicide bombings at two Shiite mosques in Khanaqin and 36 more killed the next day by a suicide car bomber who detonated his vehicle amid mourners at a Shiite funeral north of the capital.
In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that commanders' assessments will determine the pace of any military drawdown. About 160,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq as the country approaches parliamentary elections Dec. 15.
The Pentagon has said it plans to scale back troop strength to its pre-election baseline of 138,000, depending on conditions. Rumsfeld said the U.S.-led coalition continues to make progress in training Iraqi security forces, which he placed at 212,000.
Rumsfeld also said talk in the United States of a quick withdrawal from Iraq plays into the hands of the insurgents.
"The enemy hears a big debate in the United States, and they have to wonder maybe all we have to do is wait and we'll win. We can't win militarily. They know that. The battle is here in the United States," he told "Fox News Sunday."
In Cairo, Egypt, Iraq's president said Sunday he was ready for talks with anti-government opposition figures and members of Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath Party, and he called on the Sunni-led insurgency to lay down its arms and join the political process.
But President Jalal Talabani, attending an Arab League-sponsored reconciliation conference, insisted that the Iraqi government would not meet with Baath Party members who are participating in the Sunni-led insurgency and attacking Iraqi and U.S.-led forces in the country.
"I am the president of Iraq and I am responsible for all Iraqis. If those who describe themselves as Iraqi resistance want to contact me, they are welcome," Talabani told reporters. "I want to listen to all Iraqis. I am committed to listen to them, even those who are criminals and are on trial."
Talabani made clear in his remarks, however, that he would talk with insurgents and "criminals" only if they put down their weapons.
In Baghdad, hundreds of Sunnis demanded an end to the torture of detainees and called for the international community to pressure Iraqi and U.S. authorities to ensure that such abuse does not occur.
Anger over detainee abuse has increased sharply since U.S. troops found 173 detainees at an Interior Ministry prison in Baghdad's Jadriyah neighborhood. The detainees, mainly Sunnis, were found malnourished and some had torture marks on their bodies. Sunni Arabs dominate the insurgent ranks.
The 400 protesters carried posters of tortured detainees, disfigured dead bodies and U.S. troops detaining Iraqis as they marched for a few hundred meters (yards) through western Baghdad.
Iraq's Shiite-led government has promised an investigation and punishment for anyone guilty of torture. Attacks against Shiite civilians by Sunni religious extremists have occurred throughout the Iraq conflict but spiked since the detainees were found last weekend.
___
Associated Press correspondents Katherine Shrader in Washington, D.C., Sinbad Ahmed in Mosul and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.
"The enemy hears a big debate in the United States, and they have to wonder maybe all we have to do is wait and we'll win. We can't win militarily. They know that. The battle is here in the United States," he told "Fox News Sunday."
SecDef Rumsfeld is right. And the libbies ARE hoping Zarqawi is among the dead, so their next headline can read: US CAN PULL OUT OF IRAQ NOW THAT THE HOLD-OUT TERRORIST NETWORK IS CAUGHT.
Good point. Someone turned the thug in, finally, if this is true. I hope it is.
It appears as if the Jordanians usually try to stay out of trouble by placating both sides. After the recent wedding bombing, however, it looks as if public anger country forced them to choose.
The King fired his security officers whose job had been to let terrorists into the country but keep them quiet while they were in Jordan, which adds credibility to the thesis. So it might have been a Jordanian tip.
Or maybe not.
BOOO-YAAAAAAAAAAA!
www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=258757
There are rumors circulating in the Middle East concerning the possible death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The rumors originated with Arab television, were picked up by the Jerusalem Post and now are alive in several venues.
What is known is that the United States attacked a location in Mosul in which eight individuals were reported killed and burned beyond recognition. It would appear that the attack was triggered by some intelligence and that the intelligence held open the possibility that the command cell of al Qaeda in Iraq was there. The attack either blew up the site or the team committed suicide.
It is interesting that the attack came on the heels of Jordan's intense attack on jihadists within its borders and on anyone linked to al-Zarqawi. This followed the bombings of three hotels in Amman. Today, for example, al-Zarqawi's own family in Jordan condemned him. Jordanian security has lashed out in all directions after that attack. It is speculative -- but not unreasonable -- to assume that the Jordanians, during their crackdown, secured intelligence on the location of al-Zarqawi's command cell.
It is interesting that Israeli sources have jumped so heavily on this report. The Israelis work closely with the Jordanians and it follows that if Jordan was the source of the intelligence, that the Israelis would have access to it. If the United States had picked up the intelligence in Iraq, the Israelis would not have such ready access to it.
All of this is interesting, but it does not in any way prove either the source of the intelligence, its accuracy or that U.S. forces attacked the right target or actually killed al-Zarqawi. The last thing the United States is going to do at this point is claim al-Zarqawi's head, only to have to withdraw the claim when a tape by him surfaces. U.S. President George W. Bush can't afford that. Therefore we would not expect confirmation for a while.
The intelligence therefore is this: There are unconfirmed rumors from multiple sources in the Middle East that al-Zarqawi was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Mosul. This report cannot be verified but it is not, in our view, quite as fantastic as some of the other rumors that have surfaced about his death and those of other jihadists in recent years. Given the timing, it is an intriguing report and we will be watching for other evidence.
We have the DNA of most prominent figures.
We even have DNA from Teresa Kerry, however since obtaining her DNA the equipment has been locked up and results after that time have been found to be erroneous and unusable.
Fox just went with this story live.
Hm....
BTW, was there a price on his head? If so, what amount?
Are you accusing the King of being able to get Zarqawi all along, but not choosing to do so until the bombing in Amman??
"BTW, was there a price on his head? If so, what amount?"
Doesn't matter.
No doubt his family pulled thier protection, and most likely (for reasons other-than-money) gave up his location.
Good news indeed!! Hope it turns out to be true!! Woo Hoo!!
Until DNA proves it, I will believe that he, himself, is behind this.
For Teresa, you don't need the DNA, you just need to do a blood test for the unique combo of raisins and gin.
This would be the best news our military could get right now.
I didn't hear of any price on his head, but I'd bet there is one. I think he really made a mistake (assuming his whole LIFE isn't a mistake!) with the bombings in Jordan; they're out to get him now.
They are covering the mall shooting.
I hear you, and I agree with you, but I have this feeling the Jordanians could have provided us this info a long time ago if they really had wanted to. They only did so after they were attacked and Abdullah himself was threatened, just like Saudi cooperation increased dramatically after they were attacked several times by Al Qaeda. I don't trust the Joradanians or the Saudis .
I heard it was the same as the price for Bin Laden, I think 25 million?
Bin Laden's family have ratted ... nor Mullah Omar's.
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