Posted on 07/24/2003 5:07:52 PM PDT by demlosers
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq’s largest city was a war zone of sorts Tuesday night as gunfire ripped through the sky for about a half-hour.
This time, however, most — if not all — of it came from Iraqis celebrating the news of the deaths of Odai and Qusai, the sons of Saddam Hussein.
“All Iraqis are very, very happy about the news,” said Hussein Ali, a 33-year-old engineer sitting in the lobby of the Palestine Hotel. “If American troops capture or kill Saddam Hussein, then we’ll have a big celebration for that.”
Firing weapons at events such as weddings and funerals is a common practice in Iraq. But not on the scale of Tuesday night.
“They’re all allowed one weapon, and there are 5 million people in this city,” said Staff Sgt. Dale Hall, standing guard over the complex that includes the Palestine and Sheraton hotels.
“[The gunfire] just exploded all over the city. It had to be a reaction to [Lt.] Gen. [Ricardo] Sanchez’s announcement.”
Sanchez, the top U.S. commander stationed in Iraq, told reporters Tuesday: “We are certain that Odai and Qusai were killed” earlier in the day in the city of Mosul.
The sudden eruption of gunfire started a little after 10 p.m. and was startling in its intensity.
Sgt. Christopher Woodruff and others from the 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment ran out of their compound in downtown Baghdad after hastily putting on their gear.
“At first, we thought it was some sort of attack going on,” he said Wednesday morning. “It sounded like it was inside the compound. That’s how loud it was.
“Then word came down the radio that it was just celebratory.”
Just having some fun.
A very dangerous practice if we have planes in the area. - Tom
Some oldies from Afghanistan.
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (CNN) -- At least 20 people were killed and more than 60 injured in Afghanistan when a U.S. plane dropped a bomb on a wedding party as celebrants fired into the air, an Afghan defense spokesman said Monday.
Another wedding party incident- US helicopter gunships and jets today fired on an Afghan wedding, killing or injuring at least 250 civilians, witnesses and hospital officials said.
The attack occurred in the village of Kakarak in Uruzgan province, in the south of the country, where special forces and other coalition troops were searching for remaining al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.
One survivor, Abdul Qayyum, told reporters at a Kandahar hospital that the attack began shortly after midnight and continued for more than two hours until US special forces ground troops moved into the area. "The Americans came and asked me 'who fired on the helicopters', and I said 'I don't know' and one of the soldiers wanted to tie my hands but someone said he is an old man and out of the respect they didn't," he said.
Afghans often fire weapons during weddings in celebration.
“Then word came down the radio that it was just celebratory.”
I'll bet it took an hour to come down from the adreneline rush though. :)
Neither is the Democratic National Committee. So what.
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