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U.S., Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf
Reuters ^ | 1-28-07 | Reuters

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)




TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 0wn3d; 0wned; ahmedhassani; alyemeni; armyofheaven; bushwins; frwn; heavensarmy; heavenssoldiers; iraq; iraqiforces; mahdi; najaf; owned; pwn3d; pwnd; pwnt; soldiersofheaven; victory; wot; yemeni
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To: michaelbanderas

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


361 posted on 01/28/2007 7:21:57 PM PST by tobyhill (The War on Terrorism is not for the weak.)
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To: cgk
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.

362 posted on 01/28/2007 7:25:02 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The DemonicRATS believe ....that the best decisions are always made after the fact.)
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To: cgk
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!

363 posted on 01/28/2007 7:26:04 PM PST by SuziQ
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Comment #364 Removed by Moderator

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

Are you sure you know what you are saying?

365 posted on 01/28/2007 7:28:22 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The DemonicRATS believe ....that the best decisions are always made after the fact.)
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To: NormsRevenge

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.


366 posted on 01/28/2007 7:28:52 PM PST by melancholy
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To: michaelbanderas

That is what is being reported


367 posted on 01/28/2007 7:29:00 PM PST by bnelson44 (Proud parent of a tanker! (We are going to win!))
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Comment #368 Removed by Moderator

To: michaelbanderas

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


369 posted on 01/28/2007 7:31:25 PM PST by melancholy
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Comment #370 Removed by Moderator

To: michaelbanderas

Wrong.

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


371 posted on 01/28/2007 7:34:23 PM PST by melancholy
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Comment #372 Removed by Moderator

To: cgk

How many Shi'ite holy cities are there?


373 posted on 01/28/2007 7:39:06 PM PST by I got the rope
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To: michaelbanderas

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.


374 posted on 01/28/2007 7:43:58 PM PST by tobyhill (The War on Terrorism is not for the weak.)
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To: NormsRevenge

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


375 posted on 01/28/2007 7:46:22 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The DemonicRATS believe ....that the best decisions are always made after the fact.)
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To: I got the rope
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.
376 posted on 01/28/2007 7:46:45 PM PST by bnelson44 (Proud parent of a tanker! (We are going to win!))
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Yep. All traces of his existence are completely wiped out.

History, home page, all comments gone.

Somebody put the Zot machine on high power!
377 posted on 01/28/2007 7:51:10 PM PST by 2111USMC
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

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.


378 posted on 01/28/2007 7:51:55 PM PST by tobyhill (The War on Terrorism is not for the weak.)
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To: ArmstedFragg

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


379 posted on 01/28/2007 7:51:55 PM PST by rdl6989
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Comment #380 Removed by Moderator


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