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Witnesses: U.S. Convoy in Iraq Attacked

44 minutes ago

By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Insurgents attacked a U.S. military convoy and a Humvee was burned Thursday near Fallujah, witnesses said, a day after the grisly killing and mutilation of four American civilians in the city.

It was not clear if there were any casualties in Thursday's assault. U.S. officials said they could not confirm the attack, although American forces briefly blocked roads leading into Fallujah — a move that has often been done during fighting in recent weeks.

The attack occurred on a road a few miles outside the Sunni Triangle city, local resident Ahmad Tarek said.

Also Thursday, two explosions near a U.S.-escorted fuel convoy wounded at least one Iraqi in northern Baghdad, witnesses said. Associated Press Television News footage showed U.S. soldiers putting a wounded person on a stretcher inside an armored vehicle.

In Fallujah, meanwhile, Iraqi police manned standard roadside checkpoints, but no U.S. troops could be seen inside the city. Shops and schools were open.

The atmosphere was a sharp contrast from Wednesday, when jubilant mobs dragged the burned, mutilated bodies of four American contractors through the streets and strung two of them up from a bridge after rebels ambushed their SUVs.

Some of the bodies also were loaded onto the back of a donkey-pulled wooden cart later Wednesday and paraded through Fallujah's streets as crowds clapped and whistled. It was not clear where the bodies of the Americans were early Thursday.

The abuse of the corpses was similar to the scene more than a decade ago in Somalia, when a mob dragged corpses of U.S. soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation. The images were broadcast worldwide and became the subject of the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."

Five U.S. soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division also died Wednesday when a bomb exploded under their M-113 armored personnel carrier north of Fallujah, making it the bloodiest day for Americans in Iraq (news - web sites) since Jan. 8.

U.S. officials denounced the violence and vowed to stay the course in Iraq.

The White House blamed terrorists and remnants of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s former regime for the "horrific attacks" on the American contractors.

"It is offensive, it is despicable the way these individuals have been treated," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.

Referring to the planned June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis, McClellan said "the best way to honor those that lost their lives" is to continue with efforts to bring democracy to Iraq.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the contractors, all men, "were trying to make a difference and to help others."

Fallujah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of the worst violence on both sides of the conflict since the beginning of the U.S.-led occupation a year ago.

Chanting "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans," residents cheered after Wednesday's assault on two four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles left both cars in flames.

Iraqis said insurgents attacked the contractors with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. After the attack, civilians, none of whom appeared to be armed, gathered to celebrate, dragging the bodies through the street and hanging two of them from the green, iron bridge spanning the Euphrates River.

One body was tied to a car that had a poster in its window of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who recently was assassinated in Gaza City by the Israeli military.

Many of those in the crowd were excited young boys who shouted slogans in front of television cameras.

"The people of Fallujah hung some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep," resident Abdul Aziz Mohammed said. Some corpses were dismembered, he said.

U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the contractors, all men, "were trying to make a difference and to help others."

U.S. officials did not identify the dead or the nature of their work because the next of kin had not yet been notified.

However, early evidence indicated they worked for Blackwater Security Consulting, a company based in Moyock, N.C., the company said in a statement. The security firm hires former military members from the United States and other countries to provide security training and guard services. In Iraq, the company was hired by the Pentagon (news - web sites) to provide security for convoys that delivered food in the Fallujah area, the company statement said.

In Baghdad, U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the coalition would not be deterred from its mission to rebuild Iraq, and that numerous reconstruction projects were moving forward nationwide.

The roadside bomb that killed the five American soldiers Wednesday was in Malahma, 10 miles northwest of Fallujah, where anti-U.S. insurgents are active.

Their deaths raised the number of U.S. troops killed in March to at least 48, making it the second-deadliest month for U.S. troops since President Bush (news - web sites) declared an end to major combat on May 1. The deadliest month was November, when 82 U.S. troops were killed.

In all, at least 597 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war began March 20, 2003. Of the total, 459 have died since May 1 when Bush flew onto an aircraft carrier off the California coast to declare the end of major combat.

Support for Saddam was strong in Sunni Triangle cities such as Fallujah, and rebels often carry out attacks against American forces. Marines recently took over authority in the region from the Army.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=2&u=/ap/20040401/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

"Some of the bodies also were loaded onto the back of a donkey-pulled wooden cart later Wednesday and paraded through Fallujah's streets as crowds clapped and whistled. It was not clear where the bodies of the Americans were early Thursday."

Why didn't any Marines or Iraqi police go in and get the bodies? Why didn't they send them in as soon as they heard of the attack so that they could prevent this? It seems they would have wanted to recover the bodies of Americans instead of allowing them to be mutilated and paraded in front of people and cameras. I don't understand this. They should have gotten those bodies out of there by now. Some Iraqi is probably playing with them in the comfort of their home by now. I hope the Marines make a very large and aggressive offensive to capture or kill all the scumbags in that city. It's frustrating to hear that they are being killed by roadside bombs on these routine patrols. I would rather we kill 10 anti-American Iraqi scum bags and a few innocent Iraqis than lose one American.

I was just on Michael Savage's website and he has the picture of one of these Americans who was mutilated and killed. That guy is either a Navy SEAL or Army Ranger Veteran who's burnt body is hanging by a mangled leg with his privates exposed! It makes me sick to think that may go unpunished. We need to strike back like never before for this disgusting killing and mutilation of one of our elite Military veterans. I can't comprehend why the Commanders in Iraq didn't do something to retrieve those bodies as soon as the attack happened. It seems our Marines have one hand tied behind their backs. They just patrol these areas getting blown up by roadside bombs when they should be unrestrained to bring down the terrorist Resistance.

I want us to catch everyone who participated in this, even if they are only seen smiling on the video tape of these mutilations. We should capture or kill every single one of them. We should destroy their homes as well. That's the least we should do in my opinion. After seeing the picture on Michael Savage's website it has really mad me even more angry at those subhuman scumbags. I have seen the pictures before but this time it really hit me. I think after hearing that 3 of these guys were Navy SEAL vets and the other was an Army Ranger veteran it made it even more disgusting to me. Especially when you see the humiliating way these American patriots are displayed. Burnt legs and arms twisted and turned in all directions, hair and scalp hanging off, with their privates exposed. All of these atrocious mutilations committed by smiling Iraqis, many of them children, some no older than 10. It makes me furious just like everybody else. I want vengeance the same as most of you. I demand this barbaric act be avenged! A large number of Sunni's are a mix of pure evil and hopeless ignorance. They are pigs in human skin and we should treat them like the worthless swine they are. It's going to upset a lot of people if extreme action isn't taken. There was a time that no American would accept this but now we have treasonous liberal terrorist enablers like "Hanoi" John Kerry. The liberals are ruining every aspect of this nation. I doubt Kerry or the other immoral power hungry liberal internationalist care at all about the sacrifice these guys made. They probably go to bed hoping it happens again so they can win power. The elitist scum like Kerry have very little value for American life in my opinion. They are the people who allowed 9/11 to happen. If liberals hadn't infiltrated our government I doubt we would have been attacked. Liberalism isn't just an opposing political view. It's an immoral and evil way of life that teaches you can suck the brains out of babies but that you should be compassionate to child murderers and rapist. I truly believe that John 'Fonda' Kerry and the rest of his immoral liberal pals are seriously glad to hear news that will damage Bush even if it's American's being killed and mutilated. I doubt the evil blaspemist 'Catholic' Kerry feels one bit of emotion when he thinks about these guys dying. He's an elitist who cares only for himself.
Here's a link to the Michael Savage website if you want to take a look at that pic or vote in his poll about what action we should take in response to this.

http://www.homestead.com/prosites-prs/index.html