Posted on 10/05/2007 6:31:44 PM PDT by nuconvert
US Forces Kill 25 Iranian-linked insurgents in Iraq Air Strikes
October 05, 2007
AFP
Andrew Gully
BAGHDAD -- A double US air strike near the Iraqi city of Baquba on Friday killed around 25 suspected Iranian-linked insurgents, the military said, but Iraqi officials said women and children were among the dead.
A US military statement said the operations targeted an Iranian-linked commander believed to be smuggling weapons across the border from Iran, accused by the Americans of fuelling the sectarian conflict in Iraq.
US aircraft killed an "estimated 25" insurgents and destroyed two houses after a heavy firefight near Baquba, 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Baghdad, during which rebels fired rocket-propelled grenades, it said.
"There were two air strikes; one helicopter, one fixed-wing. There was continued fighting between the two air strikes," US military spokesman Major Winfield Danielson later told AFP.
Iraqi police spokesman Khudhayir al-Timimi said civilians were among the dead and wounded in the raid on Al-Jayzani village northwest of Baquba.
"Twenty-five people were killed and 40 others wounded, including women and children in the US air strike that targeted Al-Jayzani," Timimi told AFP.
Witnesses said US helicopters attacked Jayzani, northwest of the mainly Shiite town of Al-Khalis, at around 2:00 am (2300 GMT), destroying at least four houses.
An AFP photographer saw at least four trucks, each carrying several bodies from Jayzani, being driven through Baghdad to the Shiite holy city of Najaf for burial. One of the dead was clearly an elderly man.
Ahmed Mohammed, 31, said he had travelled with 15 wounded from the area to the Medical City Hospital in Baghdad.
"There are 24 bodies on the ground in the village and 25 others wounded in Al-Khalis hospital," he told AFP.
Danielson said he had received no reports that any Iraqi civilians were killed as a result of the US air strikes.
"Coalition forces only engage hostile threats and take every precaution to protect innocent civilians," he said.
The US statement said the target of the operation was a "Special Groups commander believed to be associated with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Quds Force."
"Special Groups" is a US military term for what it says are secret Shiite cells which wage acts of "terrorism" in Iraq with the financial and military backing of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards units.
"Intelligence indicates that (the commander) was responsible for facilitating criminal activity and is involved in the movement of various weapons from Iran to Baghdad," the statement said.
The decision to carry out the air strikes came when US forces saw an insurgent carrying what appeared to be an anti-aircraft weapon.
"Perceiving hostile intent, supporting aircraft engaged, killing an estimated 25 criminals and destroying two buildings."
Danielson said their main quarry, the Special Groups commander, appeared to have escaped.
"We do not believe he was in the area at the time of the engagement and we have not assessed him as one of the terrorists killed," he said.
The US military also said it had killed 12 other insurgents in operations Friday against Al-Qaeda in Iraq, including seven in Baghdad, one in Yusufiyah, south of the capital, and another in the northern city of Kirkuk.
It said at the weekend it had seized sophisticated Iranian-made surface-to-air missiles that were being used by insurgents in the war-torn country.
Friday's clash comes amid heightened tension between Tehran and Washington after US forces detained Iranian national Mahmudi Farhadi in northern Iraq a fortnight ago, prompting Tehran to close its border with the Kurdish autonomous region.
The US military charges that Farhadi is an officer in the covert operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, accused by American commanders of helping Shiite militias involved in Iraq's bloody sectarian conflict.
pong
Fine by me.
They went to Iraq for jihad and all they got was a JDAM!
Gee, what a surprise they would say that! Same old crap, different day. Our guys are the greatest.
It is such crap that the FIRST THING the Iraqi govt official can say - is that there are women and children among the dead.
Our kids are over there getting killed for these ingrates and they appreciate nothing.
Ahh. You beat me with the applause!
The reporter didn’t quote a government official’s name which means that he/she probably just made up the “women and children” quote out of thin air.
That’s why you don’t want “anonymous” sources: because reporters lie.
This report is from AFP. Do not trust AFP. The reality is more likely that 50 terrorist insurgents were killed and a couple of civilians got scratched.
"Twenty-five people were killed and 40 others wounded, including women and children in the US air strike that targeted Al-Jayzani," Timimi told AFP.
I stand corrected, the reporter quoted “Khudhayir al-Timimi” which is Arabic for Khudhayir of Timini...so we’d have to look for a government official in Timini to see if the reporter is lying.
There is video from the plane targeting the terrorists. The scurrying rats were adults wearing men’s clothing.
The Surge is Working and Victory is Near
Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters
Probably an Iranian Wedding in Baghdad with all Men
Pray for W and Our Troops
AP REPORT: what would one expect but nastiness toward the kills....war is not a pretty thing....we got the bad guys.
Hmmm. Wonder if this could have been the same guy that was busted with the Al Qaeda/Neighborhood watch group? Seems like lots of these "Iraqi Govt officials" are awfully damn quick to claim women and children were among the casualties!
]]...;0)
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