Posted on 04/11/2004 3:56:59 PM PDT by yonif
A third round of negotiations aimed at ending the fighting in the besieged city of Fallujah will be held Sunday, a US commander said.
Arab TV stations reported that Sunni militants have agreed to a US offer of a cease-fire.
Earlier, insurgents who kidnapped a US civilian Friday threatened to kill and mutilate him if Marines did not withdraw from Fallujah by 6 a.m. Sunday. The deadline passed with no word on his fate.
Some media sources reported that the three Japanese hostages were released Sunday morning. Tokyo has not confirmed the reports.
Two security agents for the German Embassy in Baghdad who have been missing in Iraq for several days are most likely dead, the Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
The two German men, ages 38 and 25, were traveling from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad on a routine trip Wednesday and were ambushed near Fallujah, according to the ministry.
A spokeswoman said that "a final confirmation is still outstanding."
How long will the cease-fire in Fallujah hold?
There were few sounds of clashes in Fallujah Sunday and a Marine commander in the south said the rebels hadn't attacked them for several hours.
Mahmoud Othman, a member of Iraq's Governing Council, said the militants have agreed in principle to a truce starting Sunday, but the deal depends on the doubtful prospect of American soldiers withdrawing from the city.
The insurgents made the offer through mediators in negotiations between council members and city representatives in Fallujah.
There was no confirmation from US commanders that a deal had been struck.
Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which is deployed in the city's south, said, "there has been no contact this morning from the rebels."
The troops are going to continue to hold attacks on the insurgents, he said.
Byrne said another round of talks would be held between 10a.m. and 4p.m. Sunday.
Arab TV station Al-Jazeera quoted an unidentified insurgent leader in Fallujah as saying a cease-fire would begin from 10a.m. and last for 12 hours. A few hours earlier, Al-Arabiya reported that the truce started at 6 a.m.
US commanders have said that for a truce to hold, the militants must hand over the Iraqis who killed and mutilated four American civilians on March 31 and allow the return of Iraqi police to their stations to keep order, Othman said.
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters Saturday that fighters must also "lay down their arms" and renounce their membership in extremist groups to fully end the insurgency that has made Fallujah its stronghold.
US forces called a unilateral halt to their offensive on Friday to allow for talks. However, sporadic fighting has occurred since then.
The Marines have moved in reinforcements around Fallujah and have warned of an assault to take the entire city if negotiations fall through.
US helicopter shot down in Baghdad
Gunmen shot down a US attack helicopter during fighting in western Baghdad on Sunday, and the fate of its two-member crew was unknown.
A pall of black smoke rose on Baghdad's western edge where a military spokesman said the AH-64 Apache helicopter was downed by ground fire in the morning. More helicopters circled overhead, while US troops closed off the main highway, a key supply route into the capital.
Heavy firing was heard, and tanks and Humvees moved into the area, near the suburb of Abu Ghraib, where masked gunmen have wreaked havoc for the past three days, attacking fuel convoys and blowing up tanker trucks. Insurgents kidnapped an American civilian and killed a US soldier in the area Friday.
Footage shown of two slain Westerners in Fallujah
Footage broadcast on Arabic TV on Sunday showed the bloodied bodies of two Westerners lying in the street that gunmen claimed were Americans killed during fighting in Fallujah.
It was not clear when the two were killed. In the footage, aired on Al-Jazeera, gunmen seen moving around the bodies are heard saying that the two are American intelligence agents. They pointed to a burning car nearby they said belonged to the two men.
Both, obviously Westerners, wore dark t-shirts and khaki pants commonly worn by private security contractors.
This is not surprizing. The Japanese were anti-American radicals looking to meet their Iraqi pals and stage a media event. Mission accomplished.
The helicopter that was shot down, unfortunately the crew of two was killed. Names to be released after NOK notification is complete.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Yes, this administration has such a well established record of being afraid to take military action. I guess you must have missed some minor events in our military history during the last three years.
"It will be at a time and a place of our choosing.
It will be methodical, it will be precise and it will be
overwhelming."
I'm still waiting for the "overwhelming" part.
Exactly, after this much time and more than one warning to leave the city for your own safety, we need to go in with a vengeance. Doing our best to make sure that even if we cannot get ALL those involved in the March 31 incident we can make damn sure that anyone who thought about repeating such will have second thoughts
True, which has been defined as when the mosque is being used for offensive operations against our troops, which nullifies its protection under the Geneva Convention. I don't consider that too restrictive. It becomes a legitimate military target at that point, and does not require anything resembling Presidential approval to be hit. In fact, the decision can be made by the troops in contact.
Don't discount the destructive ability of a 500lb bomb. It is more accurate than its 2000lb brother, and is more than capable of flattening a mud walled mosque. Plus, it has the added side affect of not flattening the friendly Marines within 1/2 mile of its impact point. Sure, 500lb bombs are the smallest we carry...but they are the weapon of choice for countless reasons that have nothing to do with PC.
Bottomline, I agree with your final statement with one editorial adjustment..."The next time we are fired upon from a mosque, two 500 pounders through the filthy dome should be the response. "
Who can afford it ?
They are holding (and presumably torturing and mutilating) American and other coalition hostages.
This is not the shuk ...
Words have meaning. American credibility is diminished when American leaders do not follow through on their words. This is turn costs more American lives.
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