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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Prayers for all the troops and great shooting.
According to CNN the, military just confirmed the helicopter was shot down and there was 2 casualties.
That shooting tip you shared with the Iraqi troops is really paying off..
US President George W. Bush (L) and Vice President Dick Cheney walk to the Oval Office upon return to the White House in 2006. Republicans dug in their heels in support of President George W. Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq, standing firm against the pull of opposition from Congress and a mass march on the Capitol.(AFP/File/Mandel Ngan)
Thanks. got to see the short clip....then they went on to the counterfeit badges in NY City....
Definately looks like it was NOT Sadr's goons that got hit.
see:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1775130/posts?page=180#180
Iraqi police commandos deploy as clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces backed by US forces and gunmen in the town of Zarqa, north of the central Iraqi city of Najaf. At least 61 people were killed and scores wounded in Iraq, while police found 54 more corpses of people killed in brutal sectarian attacks in violence-wracked Baghdad.(AFP/Qassem Zein)
(AFP/File/Mannie Garcia)
US Democratic Senator Joe Biden from Delaware in Washington, DC, 24 January 2007.
Republicans dug in their heels in support of President George W. Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq,
standing firm against the pull of opposition from Congress and a mass march on the Capitol.
It was about time to take the trash to the landfill.
LOL!
Hey! Those guys look like they've been trained by somebody.
They need some trees to hide behind.
Can't have everything. :)
Democrats want to know if the 'militants' were asked where they were from before they were shot.
Yeah, they're busy photoshopping more smoke in. s/
Yep.
Yep. Great post.
:)~
Check post 180 of this thread. According to all our Arm Chair Pattons the Shia and the Sunni never ever could possibly ever work together. Seems our enemies have no problem matching up Shia and Sunni thugs
Amazon link:
The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11 (Hardcover) by Dinesh D'Souza
You mean the John Kerry who was in Vietnam?/s
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