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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Speaking of Iran...
Guess Who Made the Front Page of the Iran Daily Today?
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/
Would you look at that. It looks like those soldiers have learned to aim.
Without looking....Betcha John Kerry. SOAB!!!!
Only took 3 years
Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to a cleric called Ahmed Hassani.
or 5000, depending on how you look at it.
Representative John Conyers calls for defunding the Iraq War today at the anti-war rally in Washington DC.
Fox news showed footage from a cellphone camera, showing the helicopter down, and the military fighting.
You telling me that it was our plan to have our troops act as crossing guards this whole time only to get the go signal today?
No me no say that. You read what I said again. Okay?
Where have you been hiding your head? We have been doing this for years. Only 1st we delt with the biggest threat. The Al Qeda-Shunni Sadamists. Since that foe is neutralized, we are moving on to the next problem.
Slight addition.....*Firebrand is arabic for "raving maniac with bad teeth"*.
Damn......GOOD ONE!
Intresting combination. According to our Junk Media the Shia and the Sunni hate each other and cannot every possible be expected to work together ever so we should leave now.
What idiots our supposed "Journalists" are.
Whoa.
Waxed...ouch. That must really hurt. Hehehe.
Its amazing how many posters got it wrong. According to Fox News, this campaign was actually aimed at protecting the Shia pilgrims rather than 'attacking shias or Sadr' as may thought.
From Fox website,
BAGHDAD, Iraq — U.S.-backed Iraqi forces killed about 250 militants in a daylong battle near Najaf aimed at preventing attacks on religious pilgrims during major Shiite rituals, Iraqi authorities said.
The U.S. military confirmed that a helicopter went down Sunday during combat operations near Najaf and the two crew members were killed.
Col. Ali Nomas, spokesman for Iraqi security forces in Najaf, said more than 250 corpses had been found at the scene. Army Maj. Gen. Othman al-Ghanemi also spoke of 250 dead but said an exact number would be released Monday.
He said 10 gunmen had been captured, including one Sudanese.
Provincial officials said the gunmen planned to attack Shiite pilgrims and clerics during ceremonies marking Ashoura, which commemorates the 7th century death of Imam Hussein. His death began the schism between Sunnis and Shiites.
Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni, whom they described as an apocalyptic cult leader convinced he leads the vanguard of the Mahdi -- a messiah-like figure in Islam whose coming heralds the start of perfect world justice.
There have been manifestations of a similar, violent Muslim cult in the past growing from both Sunni and Shi'ite communities, including in recent history.
It is not clear where these fighters were drawn from but their leader, according to Shi'ite political sources and Iraqi security sources, has been active in Najaf until recently.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/29/worldupdates/2007-01-29T014025Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-285306-4&sec=Worldupdates
If this is true, that leads us back to the 1st story I posted:
Al Yamani is another name for Ahmed bin al Hassan who was a student of Ayatollah Mohammed al Sadr, the Shia cleric slain in 1999 and the father of Muqtada al Sadr. About two years ago al Yamani began calling on people to follow him and claiming that he had seen Imam al Mahdi (the twelfth Shia Imam who went into occultation in the 10th century AD and is expected to return like the messiah) and that the Mahdi had ordered him to lead the nation. He sent letters to presidents and leaders (including Bush in the U.S. and Khamenai in Iran ) asking them to leave power and submit to his orders. Until recently his movement was quiet and it was ignored by Shia and the authorities. It is still not clear why the fighting has started but the Yamani group issued a statement on their website accusing the Iraqi forces of targeting and destroying one of their mosques.
http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/1051/Fighting_Breaks_Out_In_Najaf
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