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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How does one "consolidate a schism"?
Sistani isn't gonna be happy about that.. oh oh.
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed some 250 gunmen from an apocalyptic Muslim cult on Sunday in a battle involving U.S. tanks and aircraft near the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf, Iraqi police, army and political sources said.
Two Americans were killed, the U.S. military said, when an attack helicopter went down during the day-long battle in what was one of the strangest incidents of the four-year conflict. Iraqi officials said the helicopter seemed to be shot down.
According to one Iraqi political source, hundreds of fighters drawn from both Sunni and Shi'ite communities were still fighting. A Reuters reporter at the scene, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, saw U.S. tanks and heard blasts after dark and an Iraqi officer said F-16 jets were bombing the area.
Details of the day's fighting were sketchy and the origins of the fighters unclear. An Iraqi army source said some of the dead wore headbands declaring themselves a "Soldier of Heaven".
The governor of Najaf province said the group had gathered in orchards near the city and had been planning to attack the main Shi'ite clerical leadership on Monday. It is the climax of the annual Shi'ite rite of Ashura, marking a 7th century battle which entrenched the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Islam.
Earlier, the governor described the fighters as Sunnis, the majority in the Arab world and the once dominant minority in Iraq, where Shi'ites have been in the ascendant since the U.S. invasion of 2003. The two sects are embroiled in conflict that many fear is descending into all-out civil war.
But political and security sources said they were followers of Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni and described him as an apocalyptic cult leader claiming to be the vanguard of the Mahdi -- a messiah-like figure in Islam whose coming heralds the start of perfect world justice. He had been operating from an office in Najaf until it was raided and closed down about 10 days ago.
CULTS
Similar violent cults have been a feature of Islamic history. They have declared temporal Muslim leaders illegitimate infidels and have drawn followers from both Sunni and Shi'ite believers, proclaiming a unity of inspiration from Mohammad.
Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite pilgrims were gathering in the holy city of Kerbala, between Najaf and Baghdad, to mark Ashura -- the death of Mohammad's grandson Hussein in the Battle of Kerbala in 680, which confirmed the split in Islam between supporters of rival claimants to the Prophet's inheritance.
In Baghdad, 13 people were killed in bombings in mainly Shi'ite areas, police said. In a Sunni area, five girls were killed when a mortar struck their school yard.
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.
Najaf 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," he said, referring to Monday by the Muslim calendar.
The 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.
(Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Ross Colvin, Mariam Karouny, Claudia Parsons and Alastair Macdonald in Baghdad)
Reuters (IDS)
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/U_S_and_Iraqi_forces_kill_250_militants.html?siteSect=143&sid=7473506&cKey=1170016655000
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apocalyptic Muslim cult
This is how I saw the AP story just now. You can't write it in a more negative manner. Sandwich the good news between two pieces of bad news so the reader is left with a bad feeling about the story. I'll bet if all the terrorists surrendered and turned themselves in, the headline would be "7 Troops Killed as US Forces are Overrun With Terrorists, Helicopter Down (landing to re-fuel...we'll just leave that part out.)"
Iraqi Authorities: 250 Extremists Killed
Jan 28, 3:08 PM (ET)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An American military helicopter crashed on Sunday during fighting near the Shiite holy city of Najaf, and the U.S. military said two crew members were killed. Iraqi military authorities said about 250 militants died in the battle.
Iraqi authorities said the helicopter crashed while providing air support to Iraqi troops battling militants who planned attacks against Shiite pilgrims and clerics during the upcoming Ashoura commemorations. A U.S. statement said the remains of the crew members were recovered.
It's probably real.
Apparently Hassani is a follower of Sadar.
No. Hassani is a follower of Sadar's dad. He would be considered a rival to Sadar.
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.
CNN just reported that the Iraqi forces thwarted an assassination attempt on al-Sistani..
THAT would have been a HORRIBLE thing to happen...it would have been a lot worse than the attack on the Golden Dome mosque that started a lot of this sectarian strife.
But, the Iraqi military with the USA did NOT let that happen...which is the good news, along with over 250 bad guys being killed.
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apocalyptic Muslim cult
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wore headbands declaring each of them a "Soldier of Heaven" .. I'd hate to see their vision of Nirvana..
-- Not to worry,,, We got 'em covered.
It does have a catchy ring to it.
Would that make him an enemy or an ally of Nutjob in Iran?
Wow... I never thought there are shia clerics nuttier than Sadr.
An enemy.
Howdy
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