Large Explosion (possible car bomb) in Baghdad

MSNBC

[saquin]

MSNBC just had a special report w/ some raw video. Large explosion in central Baghdad that could be heard for miles. Near the gates of the CPA headquarters. No word on casualties. From the raw video, I saw several civilian cars damaged.

[BagCamAddict]

Car bomb now being reported in Tikrit.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1060184/posts

[TexKat]

U.S. Army: Car Explodes in Tikrit

TIKRIT, Iraq - An explosive device being transported in a car exploded near a U.S. Army patrol in Tikrit, killing two men in the vehicle, the military said Sunday.

There were no U.S. casualties.

The white Mercedes Benz exploded late Saturday on a street in Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, said Sgt. Maj. Bryan Luke of the Tikrit-based 4th Infantry Division.

Luke told The Associated Press it was unclear why the men in the car were carrying the explosives, but they may have intended to carry out a roadside bombing or a suicide attack.

[BagCamAddict]

Nevermind... guess it happened yesterday.

[LayoutGuru2]

Things that make you go hmmmmmm. I don't think the former Baathist are big on numerology though. Some say that AQ is, but we all know there aren't any AQ operatives in Iraq. < /sarc >

[MEG33]

No,none,never,no way.

[tubavil]

Tired of always hearing about Americans being killed?

Like to see what real payback is?

Apache cannon vs. iraqis, FLIR, no cover. Warning, graphic: http://www.journalism.co.uk/imagesn/apache.mpeg

[Squantos]

Stay Safe !

[TexKat]

As if the coalition troops did not have enough to deal with

Clerics Urge Shiites to Protest Call for Iraqi Elections Carries Hint of Violence

By Daniel Williams

Washington Post Foreign Service

Saturday, January 17, 2004; Page A01

KARBALA, Iraq, Jan. 16 -- Preachers in Shiite Muslim mosques appealed to their followers Friday to prepare for demonstrations, strikes and possible confrontations with occupation troops to back up demands for elections in advance of a transfer of authority from a U.S.-led administration to Iraqis.

The calls increased pressure on the Bush administration and its handpicked Iraqi Governing Council to satisfy demands by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the country's most influential cleric, for elections. President Bush's chief administrator for Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, and top Governing Council leaders are scheduled to meet in New York next week in hopes of enlisting U.N. help in changing Sistani's mind.

The United States and the council have fashioned a proposal to select a transitional assembly by July 1 through a complex system of regional caucuses. Sistani rejected the plan on the grounds it disenfranchises Iraqis and puts Iraq's future in the hands of the United States. Sistani's challenge was sharpened in Shiite mosques throughout Iraq on Friday, and the option of violence was made explicit.

"We should think seriously about the future and for the coming generation, and fashion it to keep our dignity," said Abdel-Madhi Salami, the chief cleric in Karbala, one of two Shiite holy cities in Iraq. "This will happen through serious participation in a peaceful protest, strikes and, as a last resort, possible confrontation with the occupying forces, because they plan to draw up colonial schemes."

Salami is a senior associate of Sistani. A similar appeal was made in the biggest Sunni mosque in Baghdad.

The relative calm that has prevailed among Iraq's Shiite majority since the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein last spring now hangs in the balance. Shiites, one of two major streams in Islam, make up at least 60 percent of the population. Unlike their Sunni Muslim counterparts, who make up about 20 percent of Iraqis and formed the backbone of support for Hussein, the Shiites largely welcomed the U.S.-led invasion of the country.

But the issue of Iraq's political future has put the relationship between the Shiites and the occupation authorities in question. Shiites consider Sistani, 73, a marja al-taqlid, or object of emulation, and his followers heed his words not only on religious matters but also on social and political issues. Despite hints of compromise emanating from U.S. and Iraqi officials, Sistani does not appear to be budging.

On Friday, Sistani met with tribal leaders at his offices in the holy city of Najaf, his home base. There were no reports of demonstrations. On Thursday, tens of thousands of Shiites marched in Basra, the country's second-largest city, to demand elections. Salami said that Basra was a sample of things to come.

"We want to convey to the people the importance of this case. Some people think it will take confrontation. Not for the present, we hope," Salami said in an interview.

Salami also suggested a way to avoid violence, repeating Sistani's demand for the United Nations to send a fact-finding team to Iraq and judge whether elections can be organized. When Sistani first called for a U.N. visit, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan sent a letter to the Governing Council saying elections could not be arranged properly before July 1.

"It was not correct for Kofi Annan to sit in New York and say it," Salami said. "We feel this was all a maneuver. If the commission came, investigated and said there is no way, then an alternative would have to be found."

He was evasive about whether Sistani would accept a U.N. judgment. "There is a lack of trust," he said.

Salami spoke dismissively of Bremer, with whom Sistani has refused to meet. "It's a feeling we will not get anything from Bremer. My evaluation is, there is no profit in a meeting with him," he said.

He spoke in his office at the edge of the Imam Hussein mosque, one of a matching pair in Karbala, each topped with a golden dome and gilt minarets set above an enclosure adorned with tiles in floral patterns.

More Washington Post

[windchime]

"Luke told The Associated Press it was unclear why the men in the car were carrying the explosives, but they may have intended to carry out a roadside bombing or a suicide attack."

Bet Luke is correct.

[TexKat]

If they not profiling mercedes benz (at least drivers of mercedes) in Iraq and the surrounding areas, then they need to start. They should also check out the mercedes car dealerships over there. The mideasterners that tried to run my son and some of his fellow soldiers off the road was driving a mercedes and then there was another recent incident in Iraq were a mercedes was involved.

[My Dog Likes Me]

I thought Ted Koppel did a great job on Nightline last week.

[TexKat]

Hi windchime, check out my post #190. windchime and meg33 the blood letting monsters are getting bolder. Next they will be walking up and knocking at the door of the green zone and then blowing themselves up along with whoever else is near.

[My Dog Likes Me]

You are right!

By Sunday night, the Iraqi 'man on the street' will have blamed this suicide bombing on the Zionists and Infidels.
We can't force democracy down the throats of irrational people. Let us leave them to their own devices. If we need their oil, we should just take their bleeping oil. I'm tired of it all.

[TexKat]

CNN reporting that 600 of the new Iraqi police have been killed since they have been on duty.

[TexKat]

Per CNN US briefing coming up shortly.

[Eagle Eye]

I caught a UH-60 out of the AO a few days ago. Fallujah from the air...interesting sight.

[MEG33]

I agree about the Mercedes.I do love it when the explosives detonate and the only ones hurt are the perps.

Going to have the Press conference later at the CPA headquarters in about an hour.

[TexKat]

Per CNN briefing has been deferred to Sanchez and will be held at 1400 hours Iraqi time, which is about an hour and 45 minutes.

[MEG33]

Good night,TexKat.God bless you and those you love.May all our armed forces rest safe to night.

[windchime]

You're right about the Mercedes alert. They're like the Al Jazeera camera crew....always around when there's trouble for the coalition.

I read Meg's earlier post about her hatred for these cowardly pigs. They are losing the battle to incite terror as far as most of us are concerned. They are teaching us to hate as we never thought we could.

My hunch is that the Iraqi citizens are feeling the same way about the cowards and will be more agressive in smoking them out.