Posted on 03/01/2007 8:30:36 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces killed dozens of al Qaeda militants who attacked a village in western Anbar province on Wednesday, during fierce clashes that lasted much of the day, police officials said on Thursday.
Sunni tribal leaders are involved in an escalating power struggle with Sunni al Qaeda for control of Anbar, a vast desert province that is the heart of the Sunni Arab insurgency in Iraq.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Karim Khalaf said foreign Arabs and Afghanis were among some 80 militants killed and 50 captured in the clashes in Amiriyat al Falluja, a village where local tribes had opposed al Qaeda.
A police official in the area, Ahmed al-Falluji, put the number of militants killed at 70, with three police killed.
There was no immediate verification of the number of casualties from medical sources.
A U.S. military spokesman in the nearby city of Falluja, Major Jeff Pool, said U.S. forces were not involved in the battle but had received reports from Iraqi police that it lasted most of Wednesday. He could not confirm the number killed.
Another police source in Falluja said dozens were killed.
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
Bush's fault.
Excellent news.
Good for them.
Good more dead hajj bastards.
"Vietnamization" can work if, unlike Vietnam, the Democrats do not cut off funds.
It is little appreciated how they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Vietnam and, more disturbingly, how they used (and still use) that as a pathway to power. Disgusting people and disgusting policies.
Notice the reference to Afghanis....now how did they get there?
Well, it's rooters, hope they're not inflating the dead terrorist numbers to inflame the anti-war crowd.
They'll probably find some weapons caches too.
I just heard that the effect is snowballing -
the more people feel safe, the more they provide intel and help,
the more secure they get because of the intel,
the safer they feel, etc.
"Afghanis" is very interesting. This could mean either Afghan fighters but is also a describtion of all foreign "Mujaheddin" (Arab, Bosnian, African) who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviets and recently the Northen Alliance/USA. If it's indeed the latter, this means some very expirienced members were killed.
It is global terrorist jihadist network. That is why Iraq is the center front of the war on terror as President Bush has been saying since 2003. Every terrorist organization and terrorist regime is coming to Iraq to fight us, and it is in Iraq where were are annihilating them. Whether by design or not, planed or not, the war in Iraq is the ultimate way to fight and destroy world wide islamic terrorism.
No direct military strikes inside Pakistan, says US
pointing back to this thread....
AND if these Afghani's in Anbar were trained in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border area...then we don't have a clue as to what we need to do as we see from the State Department statement....
A thousand thanks to the troops, again.
AND ....no mention is made of US Troops....
Good story...I wonder if the NY Times will even mention this tomorrow?
Maybe we can get some good actionable intel from the Afghanis captured (if any)for use in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Our relation with Pakistan is very delicate. Musharaf and a minority of Pakistanis support us, the majority is against us and they support Al Qaeda and every major terrorist organization. If we strike inside Pakistan, in an overt way, Musharaf may be faced with a coup d’etat and a lot of internal troubles caused by terrorists and their sympathizers inside Pakistan. With Pakistan we need to use their intelligence resources to locate Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists and we need to conduct covert operations against terrorists inside Pakistan.
Iraq says police kill dozens of al Qaeda in Anbar... foreign Arabs and Afghanis were among some 80 militants killed... A police official in the area, Ahmed al-Falluji, put the number of militants killed at 70... Another police source in Falluja said dozens were killed."Dozens" s/b "at least 70" in the headline.
The good Iraqis are waking and smelling the al Qaeda serial killers where they live.
Then like this quick and decisive battle, they are killing the serial killers or taking a lot of prisoners. The dead serial killers are probably the lucky ones. The others are wishing that they were dead as they tell every secret they know.
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