Posted on 01/28/2007 11:06:07 AM PST by cgk
Edited on 01/28/2007 11:44:41 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
| U.S., Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:16 PM ET
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 250 gunmen in a fierce battle involving U.S. tanks and helicopters on the outskirts of the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, a senior Iraqi police officer said. The day-long battle was continuing after nightfall, Colonel Ali Nomas told Reuters, as tens of thousands of pilgrims converged on the nearby city of Kerbala for the climax of the Ashura commemorations. A U.S. helicopter was shot down in the fighting, Iraq security sources said. The U.S. military declined comment. A Reuters reporter saw a helicopter come down trailing smoke. Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to a cleric called Ahmed Hassani. In Baghdad, 13 people were killed in bombings in mainly Shi'ite areas, police said. Twin car bombs targeting ethnic Kurds killed 16 people as night fell in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, whose population is a volatile mix of Kurds, Turkmen and Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have converged on Iraq's other main Shi'ite holy city, Kerbala, for Ashura, marking the 7th century Battle of Kerbala, which helped consolidate the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Islam. It ends on Monday. It is the first time the 10-day annual ritual has been held since violence erupted last February between Iraq's majority Shi'ites and once-dominant minority Sunnis. Tens of thousands have since been killed in tit-for-tat killings. The governor of Najaf province said Iraqi troops fought a day-long battle with up to 200 Sunni gunmen, including foreign fighters, holed up in orchards on the northern outskirts of the city, seat of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite clerics. Governor Asaad Abu Gilel told Reuters the authorities had uncovered a plot to kill some of the clerics on Monday, to coincide with the climax of Ashura. "There is a conspiracy to kill the clergy on the 10th day of Muharram," Najaf governor Abu Gilel said, referring to the day of the Muslim calendar on Monday. A Reuters reporter about 1.5 km (1 mile) from the fighting said he heard intense gunfire and saw U.S. helicopters rocket groves sheltering militants. He saw smoke trailing from one helicopter before it came down in the midst of the fighting. He was unable to see what had happened to the helicopter, but officers in Iraq's 8th Army Division and policemen said it had crashed and that the two crew members were dead. The U.S. military said it did not comment on operations still taking place. (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Sherko Raouf in Sulaimaniya) |
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Najaf is where he hides out most of the time.
I hope the find his hideout and bomb it.
ping
I am concerned about the sudden popularity of surface-to-air missiles. This parallels what we did against the Soviets in Afghanistan some thirty years ago now, and it would be good to know where these weapons came from. I have a very short list of suspects.
And I would hope the factories are leveled, as a example for those who would arm terrorist.
How about someone who's in reality an Iranian agent but is pretending to be a religious fanatic?
We should encourge them to march more... s/
Bastards shoot at a school and a clinic. It would seem extremist Islam and feminism has the same end result... the loss of testicles.
Would I really want to go to allah for my virgins for killing a schoolgirl or kids in a clinic from far away? Not for killing a battle hardened warrior with my bare hands and not from far away or pressing a sissy check out button?
Indeed, more than one i'm sure.
Yep, and let them see you doing it. I'm ready to post it on youtube as soon as possible.
A good test for Maliki and President Bush. IF they kill Hassani unlike they did to Sadr, then we'll know that both Maliki and President Bush have learned a hard lesson.
Where are the Somali references?
But they'll show a terrorist sniping at our troops.
I never get a chance to thank you guys/gals for all the work you do for this forum. Thank you so much.
I know I keep everyone busy... I type with my toes. Kidding.
IRAN...oops! How'd I miss THAT one?
;^)
Exactly, this is three in the past week, my list has one name on it. We should start hitting everything that comes into Iraq from Iran and F-18 strikes on where the vehicles came from.
When I think of Najaf or KARBALA, the last thing I think of is that it is a HOLY CITY!!
Can you imagine WWII and BERLIN referred to as a HOLY CITY.
Ridiculous!!
Okay, that works. But would they be pretending?... Hmmm.
Jaish Ansar al-Sunna
Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna or Group of the Protectors of the Sunna, (formerly Jaish Ansar al-Sunna) is an Islamist militant group in Iraq that fought the US-led occupation and US-backed interim government of Iyad Allawi, and continues to fight the new ruling government of Nouri al-Maliki. The group is based in northern and central Iraq, and includes Kurdish (Kurds) groups and Sunni Arab religious radicals as well as some foreign fighters. The group maintains close ties with the remnants of Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish Islamist organization formerly based in the mountains near Halabja in northeastern Iraq before the U.S-led invasion. U.S. officials believe that the group was founded in September of 2003 as an umbrella organization for Islamist guerrillas, with former members of Ansar al-Islam at its core. This date coincides with the first released message from the group stating their existence, on September 20. They claim to seek to expel U.S.-led occupation forces from Iraq and to subsequently establish an Islamic state. The group's leader has been identified Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud, who is believed to be the brother of a major Ansar al-Islam fighter, although his background is unclear.
Ansar al-Sunna is thought to have links with other Islamist organizations operating in Iraq including, the formerly Abu Musab al-Zarqawi backed, Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (al-Qaeda in Iraq). In October 2004 Ansar al-Sunna released a video beheading of a Turkish truck driver on its website. The kidnappers on the video identified themselves as members of al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (Source: MERIA). The United States and Iraqi Interim governments have reportedly linked Ansar al-Sunna to al-Qaeda.
Following the twin Sunni and Shiite uprisings of the spring and summer of 2004, and the subsequent decrease in U.S patrols and the creation of "no-go" areas in the Sunni Triangle, Ansar al-Sunna was believed to be part of a loose coalition of insurgent groups (also including guerrillas from Mohammad's Army and al-Tawhid wal-Jihad) controlling the Sunni cities of Fallujah, Ramadi, Samarra, and Baquba (U.S. offensives later largely wrested control from Baquba, Fallujah, and Samarra, although underground guerrilla forces still have a strong presence in those cities).
On October 10, 2005, Britain's Home Office banned Ansar al-Sunna and fourteen other militant groups from operating in the United Kingdom. Under Britain's Terrorism Act 2000, being a member of a Ansar al-Sunna is punished by a 10-year prison term. On 23 August 2006 its leader was captured.
more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansar_al-Sunna
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