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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...And it came from REUTERS. Suffering severe intellectual trauma here...
That's certainly true, but there are very different implications depending on whether these were Sunnis or Shiites.
If the battle is against Sunni insurgents, then this is basically more of the same, except that the Sunnis appear to have penetrated about 100 miles south of their base in the Sunni Triangle. That being said, it's great that they're being annihilated even if it doesn't really make much difference in the grand scheme of things (though had the terrorists been successful it would've).
If the battle is against a splinter Shiite militia that has been previously ignored, then that suggests a new get-tough approach and an eventual settling of scores with Sadr. That would also be great, though this would ultimately be something of a sideshow practice run, kind of like getting the small-fry out of the way before going after the big boys. The real battle awaits.
And, looking at the above reports, it seems to be both taking place and some level of confusion over which is which.
That is true and it's been the major factor in losing the PR war against posturing RATS.
Since America being in a war more specifically means fighting the enemy and the Democrats at the same time. We need to fight the PR war as well. The Rats do everyday. So we moved to FOB's and lost men everyday to cheapshots and IED's. Let Sadr punk us. Bad for Iraq, bad for the US., bad for our Trooper heroes and red meat for the Democrats. This was a mistake. We need action.
Our people want the best for our Troopers, and the best is for them to win and come home. Americans love when their Troopers are active. Our losses are always lower when we engage aggressively. We lose stature in the Arab world when we tolerate troublemakers like Sadr who opposes openly and yet, lives.
I think more publicly aggressive tactics could only have bolstered the President last election. Americans like to kick the bad guys ass. It's what we do.
One militia bites the dust. This has to be a huge confidence-builder for the Iraqi army and a shot across Sadr's bow. That coupled with the recent arrests of high-level Iranian militants and the change in rules of engagement that means their successors will get shot and you have a distinct change in policy. I like it so far.
"alleged religious fanatic" is the term cowardly editors use for "religious fanatic."
So, perhaps it's time to talk back to Biden and his ilk about the "failures" of the surge, eh? Oh, excuse me, killing terrorists isn't exactly in the Democrat game plan, now, is it?
I know, every bit of soil belonging to the enemy is "holy". Who besides the media gives a flying crap?
Literal translation of the heading:
First of al Mahdis, first of the faithful; the promised al Yamani
First of the faithful, Mr. Ahmad Hassan, guardian and messenger of Imam al Mahdi.
IOW, cleric al Hassan (al Yamani) gave himself all the above titles. Therefore, no other cleric, as in Sistani, Sadr, etc. is legit!
Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf
Sun Jan 28, 2007 4:07pm ET
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)
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2007-01-28T210029Z_01_L2828035_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1
It's the surge, my friend. Take down time.
God bless our troops.....this oughtta be the lead story on the MSM! I'll be breathlessly watching.
That’s true in this case. However, the factions' clerics will try to kill off there competitors. The winning cleric will have an "Ayatollah" preceding his name and will deliver Iraq to Iran.
This is why, demolishing Iran ASAP will guarantee our win in Iraq, the rest of the ME and our enemies within.
and our enemies within. Should read: and against our enemies within.
When it comes to Muslims, every city is a "holy city", just like every day is a "hole day". You'd think even they would notice the repetitiveness, but they don't.
Have you seen the video of the truck bombing of "outpost Hotel" in Ar Ramadi? If not, you should. A platoon of A Co. 2nd Bn 69th Armor Regiment (2/69) was manning the building at the time they came under heavy RPG and MG fire. The intent of the fire was to keep their heads down while the truck negotiated the barricades around the building. The truck made it to a corner of the building and blew the approximately 5000 pounds of HE. It blew the front and one side of the building off.
A 48 hour firefight ensued while the men, under fire, rebuilt the fortifications. For about two weeks after, THE GLOVES CAME OFF in that sector. The intel reflected that the jihadi's gained a great deal of respect for the 2/69 directly as a result of their having "come out to fight". The gloves WERE off. After two weeks the unit was told to stand down. The gloves were put back on.
So Hassan is still trying to kill Sistani? Good Lord, the man is in his 80's and has congestive heart failure. Let him live out what few days he has and die in peace...oh yeah, what am I thinking?
Good old al-Reuters
Sheesh, that's a lot of co-writers. Lucky the reporter happened to be within a mile (cough, note... check outgoing/incoming calls).
At least I like this:
an apocalyptic Muslim cult
Better than:
alleged religious fanatic
Next step:
Apocalyptic Muslim fanatic
They're coming along. s/
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