U.S., Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf

Reuters ^ | 1-28-07 | Reuters

[tobyhill]

Is that you, Captain Jamil Hussein? Did you switch to Reuters from AP?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From the article linked at post #349:

***************************************************************

From deeper in the Times article:

Two senior Shiite clerics said, however, that the gunmen were part of a Shiite splinter group that Saddam Hussein helped build in the 1990s to compete with followers of the venerated religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. They said the group, calling itself the Mehwadiya, was loyal to Ahmad bin al-Hassan al-Basri, an Iraqi cleric who had a falling out with Muhammad Bakr al-Sadr — father-in-law of the Shiite leader Moktada al-Sadr — in Hawza, a revered Shiite seminary in Najaf.

The clerics spoke on condition of anonymity because they said they had been ordered not to discuss Shiite divisions.

Iraqi officials said the group of 100 to 500 fighters was discovered in the orchard Saturday night, leading to a midnight meeting of local authorities who hatched an attack plan.

[SuziQ]

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.

Good job, guys!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

We need to find the root of violence and fight it.

Are you sure you know what you are saying?

[melancholy]

Yup!

We're just starting. We'll get the mullahs this spring, hopefully. That is the key to winning in Iraq and the ME.

The new troll will be disappointed. In general, the enemy within will be defeated.

[bnelson44]

That is what is being reported

[melancholy]

After you finish counting bodies, head to the trolley bus station right outside the FR door.

[melancholy]

Wrong.

It's about success that you don't want to see.

[I got the rope]

How many Shi'ite holy cities are there?

[tobyhill]

Cry me a river, it's far less than the UN has been advertising and reflects no comparisons to what a real civil war would be like. I'm sure the 250 terrorist dead today will make their way into your whiner death toll.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Our new friend ....michaelbanderas.....seems to have vanished...

[bnelson44]

Unlike Sunni Muslims, Shiites, like Catholics, venerate burial sites of famous people, heroes and martyrs. So there are a lot of Shiite holy sites. Najaf and Karbala are two of the most important.

[2111USMC]

Yep. All traces of his existence are completely wiped out.

History, home page, all comments gone.

Somebody put the Zot machine on high power!

[tobyhill]

That troll would pop up anytime there was any good news out of Iraq and start touting the "civilian" death toll as though it was America's fault.

[rdl6989]

I so hope Mookie Al-Sadr gets his 72 virgins soon. He's long overdue.