Posted on 01/28/2007 11:06:07 AM PST by cgk
Edited on 01/28/2007 11:44:41 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
| U.S., Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:16 PM ET
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 250 gunmen in a fierce battle involving U.S. tanks and helicopters on the outskirts of the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, a senior Iraqi police officer said. The day-long battle was continuing after nightfall, Colonel Ali Nomas told Reuters, as tens of thousands of pilgrims converged on the nearby city of Kerbala for the climax of the Ashura commemorations. A U.S. helicopter was shot down in the fighting, Iraq security sources said. The U.S. military declined comment. A Reuters reporter saw a helicopter come down trailing smoke. Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to a cleric called Ahmed Hassani. In Baghdad, 13 people were killed in bombings in mainly Shi'ite areas, police said. Twin car bombs targeting ethnic Kurds killed 16 people as night fell in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, whose population is a volatile mix of Kurds, Turkmen and Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have converged on Iraq's other main Shi'ite holy city, Kerbala, for Ashura, marking the 7th century Battle of Kerbala, which helped consolidate the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Islam. It ends on Monday. It is the first time the 10-day annual ritual has been held since violence erupted last February between Iraq's majority Shi'ites and once-dominant minority Sunnis. Tens of thousands have since been killed in tit-for-tat killings. The governor of Najaf province said Iraqi troops fought a day-long battle with up to 200 Sunni gunmen, including foreign fighters, holed up in orchards on the northern outskirts of the city, seat of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite clerics. Governor Asaad Abu Gilel told Reuters the authorities had uncovered a plot to kill some of the clerics on Monday, to coincide with the climax of Ashura. "There is a conspiracy to kill the clergy on the 10th day of Muharram," Najaf governor Abu Gilel said, referring to the day of the Muslim calendar on Monday. A Reuters reporter about 1.5 km (1 mile) from the fighting said he heard intense gunfire and saw U.S. helicopters rocket groves sheltering militants. He saw smoke trailing from one helicopter before it came down in the midst of the fighting. He was unable to see what had happened to the helicopter, but officers in Iraq's 8th Army Division and policemen said it had crashed and that the two crew members were dead. The U.S. military said it did not comment on operations still taking place. (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Sherko Raouf in Sulaimaniya) |
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It means the DemonicRats liked him and he got approved....
Why is it referred to as a "holy" city? Maybe it's a misspelling and should read UNholy...it sure has nothing to do with God, just a bunch of murderous cultists.
The Viking Kittens didn't even get a shot....it was over that fast!!!
Another one?
You weren't just pulling our chain?
I think it is the same one.
What are you indicating....got a link?
Woo Hoo!!! Kick their moonbat arses men! Thank God for the good guys.
Hey Toby,
Thanks. They feel emboldened with their heroes, The Fondas, the Penns, etc.
They have a problem: our troops screwed up their rally weekend and took the oxygen out of their air by killing 300 bastards of their ilk! LOL
You just signed up to address me after just happening to find this thread? What a coincident. Catch words like "dire" are used to impress the politicians and media and since it was a 100% approved conformation then I guess that word impressed them. How many votes would he have gotten had he told the senate that things aren't as bad as they are making it out to be?
About 600 fighters and 16 leaders of the radical Shia militia, the Mehdi Army, have been nabbed in 52 operations over the last 45 days.
Before that, we've been killing al-Qaeda and Sunni insurgents over the last few years. And we've now trained over 300,000 Iraqi security forces.
IF the politicians would stay out of it and let them do their job, this war would have been over long ago.
Here's a military general explaining why he thinks it's important to have the Iraqi security forces doing their own work to combat the Shiite militias.
Brig. Gen. Terry Wolff:In 2006, we made significant strides in force generation and all components of the Iraqi military. The Iraqi security force currently sits at 327,000 trained and equipped policemen and Iraqi military. ...I don’t think you can overstate the importance of the institution of the army as a unifying institution in Iraq, when you have people who come from all over the nation and now put on a common uniform and serve together. Sounds to me like the General is saying it's important military strategy to have a unified Iraqi military army (and police force) so that they can clean up their own fat-boy and Mahdi Army mess. Maybe you missed it but this operation was lead by Iraqi Security forces. Perhaps that explains the wait to you
Perhaps, you should stay out of it and let the Generals do their job.
BEFORE you jump into anything, you should KNOW what the discussion is about! I put MY words that YOU quoted back to ME (ABOVE) in black so you could READ them again. Since you obviously didn't read them or if you did, you didn't comprehend what they said, I'm going to explain it to you.
I said KILLED, and you said captured. I am clearly talking about KILLING insurgents, and YOU are talking about capturing them. THAT was NOT the subject of this thread.
I AGREE that the Iraqi's need to step up and protect their own country and do the POLICE work that our troops are doing now.
Perhaps, you should stay out of it until you KNOW what we're talking about.
Gordon Smith is deeply troubled. 250 is a good start!
Prayers up for our Freedom Fighters.
Maybe Commrade Fonda and Saggy Sarandon can go over and become Human Shields????
Pray for W and Our Troops
They hope no more "bad news" like killing 300 terrorists that they have to report.
Wait for a month or two when Iran's turn comes and that will produce broad victory and will solve many problems.
The enemy within will be snuffed out in short order and will never be able to force defeat upon our magnificent troops and this nation.
Yea, they're really something, they support the troops while calling them killers. At least in Vietnam they didn't pretend to support the troops but today's libs are too much of cowards to admit they don't support the troops.
Bela Pelosi and the Out-House leaders: Rangle, Dangle, Dingle & Bungle and their enforcer, Henry Whacksman were getting ready to go through the de-funding motions.
Instead, they got the first nail in their two-year coffin! LOL
Commrade Fonda has had her legs in the air for 50 years. What, is that old bat 75?
Funny she is more Manly than most Rat Men.
Pray for W and Our Troops
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