Coalition Planes Bomb Barracks in N. Iraq

AP | Sunday, March 23, 2003 | By BORZOU DARAGAHI

[JohnHuang2]

Coalition Planes Bomb Barracks in N. Iraq

By BORZOU DARAGAHI .c The Associated Press

CHAMCHAMAL, Iraq (AP) - Coalition warplanes bombed a military barracks in northern Iraq on Monday, prompting frightened residents to flee the area.

At least six bombs struck Iraqi positions with such force that the ground shook and windows were shattered about three miles away in the city of Chamchamal. Huge plumes of smoke rose over the area.

A small number of residents who had not yet fled the area started to pack up and leave. Cars, buses and taxis streamed onto the main road out of the town.

``People are evacuating, but not because of the bombing. They are afraid Saddam will respond with chemical weapons,'' said Ahmad Qafoor, a schoolteacher.

Warplanes continued to fly overhead after the first wave of bombings that struck the Bani Maqem barracks, close to the line that separates the Kurdish-held area, including Chamchamal, from territory under the control of Saddam Hussein.

[JohnHuang2]

Sunday, March 23, 2003

Quote of the Day by Erasmus

[wretchard]

This attack (with the suggested secondary explosions) was very near Chamchamal, which is in a mountain valley 40 clicks east of Kirkuk, across a mountain massif. There's a road through the valley from the Kurdish territory leading nowhere in particular.

It is hard to connect this directly with the campaign in lower Iraq, but it may be in connection with some local Kurish action.

[Straight Vermonter]

I continue to wait for the Peshmerga fighters and our SF guys to start moving against these Iraqis.