Free Republic

Al Faw, Umm Qasr Resistance May Be Thorn in Coalition's SideApr 08, 2003 Summary If it continues much longer, Iraqi resistance in the Al Faw Peninsula and the port city of Umm Qasr could become a major problem for coalition supply lines, denying them the use of Iraqi ports -- and possibly hindering future oil exports from Iraq. Analysis The war in Iraq now is three weeks old, and Iraqi forces still control a large portion of the Al Faw Peninsula, Iraq's southernmost port, which coalition forces attacked on the first day of the war. Urban guerrilla fighting continues...

<p>UMM QASR, Iraq — When some members of the U.S. Army's Civil Affairs Brigade prepare to leave camp, they tuck a case of bottled water in the back of their Humvee to be discreetly rolled in the direction of barefoot children and black-robed women who beseech them on streets packed with dirt.</p>

Children enjoy a new swing as a US Navy soldier guards a playground during a visit by a US Navy admiral hours after a team of Seabees set up the playground in Umm Qasr, Iraq Sunday April 6, 2003. The Seabees have started working with locals in repairing roads, setting up playgrounds and helping in the distribution of potable water in an effort to return life to normal, following two weeks of battles against Iraqi forces, which culminated in coalition forces invading and taking over the town. (AP Photo/Roberto Schmidt/Pool) A member of the U.S. Navy Seabees is hugged...

AUSTRALIAN navy boarding teams have uncovered chilling evidence suggesting Iraqi soldiers may be plotting chemical attacks on shipping around Iraq's key port of Umm Qasr. And it comes as coalition naval forces found what appeared to be an abandoned suicide boat packed with explosives and weapons on the banks of a key waterway near the port on Wednesday. The highly-trained teams have found gas masks and diagrams detailing how to launch an attack from a small ship against a larger vessel. The sketches, gas masks, several army uniforms and a machine gun were found in a secret observation post on...

Umm Qasr, IraqTHE WHEELS of the four Humvees in our convoy had not stopped turning when Ali al-Ethari jumped out of the back of the second vehicle and sprinted toward the front of the Port Authority building here in Umm Qasr, Iraq. The 15 others in the convoy--11 American soldiers, two Iraqi Americans, and two reporters--knew where he was headed. Tributes to Saddam Hussein appear everywhere in this southern port town. A smiling, avuncular Saddam hovers over a corner market on a plastic plug-in sign, like the ones that advertise cheap beer in bars throughout America. A few feet later,...

An Australian clearance diver, Leading Seaman Jason (surname withheld) on watch patrol at Umm Qasr Lock and load ... Chief Petty Officer Mark, Leading Seaman Shaun and Petty Officer Billy (surnames withheld) keep the guns on board the HMAS Kanimbla at full strength Ready and willing ... the flight deck crew of the HMAS Kanimbla, which is patrolling the Gulf, await orders An Australian sub lieutenant on patrol watch at the port of Umm Qasr during Operation Falconer Wing Commander Alan (left) and Lieutenant Colonel Phil (surnames withheld) read letters from their children at a military base in Qatar Nerves...

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States plans to install the first stages of a civil administration to run post-War Iraq (news - web sites) in the southern port of Umm Qasr within days, a U.S. official said on Saturday. Members of the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) are scheduled to start operating in the port as early as Tuesday, the official said. "What we are going to start trying to do, even before the fighting is over in Iraq, is to move to the areas in Iraq that are relatively peaceful, places like...

ZUBAYR, Iraq - The cables slipped, and a sea mine carrying 320 pounds of high explosives plummeted the last 10 feet into a pit already packed with other mines. Nobody moved as the mine bounced and settled into place. "Why run? You'd just die tired," said Navy Seabee Michael Midonia, 41, of Forked River, N.J., who used a time-honored military pleasantry for relieving the tension of a tragedy that comes close but doesn't happen. Midonia, an equipment operator 1st class, was part of a team of Australian, British and U.S. divers and explosives-clearing personnel who had the job of destroying...

Welcome to the Republic of Umm Qasr. Water comes out the end of a jerry-rigged pipeline from Kuwait. Security is provided by the British Royal Marines. There's a deep-water port, one of the finest in the Middle East, but only one ship has called so far--and no others seem on the horizon. ELECTRICITY IS NONEXISTENT. The nights are dark and dangerous. The town's 40,000 residents are scared and angry. And this is what free Iraq consists of so far, after two weeks of war.

Shi'ites defy Saddam with ritual in streets By Michael Georgy UMM QASR, Iraq, April 4 (Reuters) - Shi'ites in the southern Iraqi town of Umm Qasr performed a public ritual of self flagellation, a move they said would have meant death if President Saddam Hussein was still in control there. The ritual, performed at a funeral on Thursday night, was the first open sign of defiance of the Iraqi president by Shi'ite Muslims in the port town since it was captured by U.S. and British troops. "Saddam your days are numbered," the marchers chanted, as religious ritual turned into broader...

<p>April 2, 2003 -- UMM QASR, Iraq - Two Iraqi soldiers who said they were sent on a mission to blow themselves up in the country's largest port have surrendered - while British troops arrested four busloads of suspected would-be homicide bombers and other volunteer fighters.</p>

UMM QASR, Iraq - To the squawk of radios and the cheers of residents, British military engineers restored power to Iraq's major seaport for the first time in weeks, a major step in reopening the harbor and funneling desperately needed humanitarian aid deeper into the war-torn country. British engineers and U.S. Navy Seabees, working into the night, replaced batteries stolen by fleeing Iraqis before the invasion to fire up back-up generators that quickly bathed 75 percent of the town in electrical lighting. "A lot of things must have been left on when the power was cut, because suddenly you heard...

The United Nations is expected to conduct a security assessment in the crucial port city of Umm Qasr in the next few days, a step that could clear the way for relief workers and urgently needed aid to start flowing into southern Iraq, U.N. officials said on Monday. "The United Nations has a security team there. It's just got to be worked out with all the authorities involved -- Iraqi as well as U.S. and British," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity. U.N. international aid workers were all pulled out of Iraq just before the start of the...

Red Cross makes first visits to Iraqi POWs GENEVA, March 31 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday it had begun visiting Iraqi prisoners of war held by the U.S.-led alliance forces near the southern town of Umm Qasr. No further details were immediately available and an ICRC spokesman said that there was no word yet on when the Swiss-based humanitarian group would get access to U.S. or British prisoners held by Iraqi forces. Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which both sides have signed, the ICRC must be allowed to visit prisoners of war....

<p>March 31, 2003 -- British troops have made an eerie discovery in occupied Iraq - a facility filled with training equipment for nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, according to British press reports.</p> <p>The existence of the facility - packed with gear such as Geiger counters, nerve gas simulators, gas masks, protective suits and even a schematic of a nuclear mushroom cloud - flies in the face of Saddam Hussein's denials that his country is pursuing weapons of mass destruction.</p>

Thousands of gallons of water will be pumped into Umm Qasr every hour as part of the huge humanitarian effort in southern Iraq. British troops have laid a vital pipeline from Kuwait into the port town and 1.23 million gallons of water will be pumped in daily until after the weekend. Throughout April, about 616,000 gallons will be delivered through the system each day thanks to the efforts of Royal Engineers in 48 Field Squadron. The system, which will be tested tomorrow, comes as HMS Sir Galahad finally delivered the long-awaited relief aid into the port today. Major Hugh Ward,...

CNN is broadcasting a very nice sight. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir Galahad arriving at Umm Qasr.

UMM QASR, 27 March 2003 - A day after US/UK forces entered the residential area of this small town, with a population of 45,000, local Iraqis here told Arab News that they are still hungry and thirsty. And as night fell machine-gun fire and mortar shells could be heard in the surrounding areas, suggesting that US/UK troops still have not "secured" the deep port as the Western media has reported. The only food and rations getting to the people are coming to Safwan, some 17 kilometers away from the port on the Kuwait-Iraq border. They are being delivered by the...

Franks: Flag-Raising Was Understandable .c The Associated Press CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) - It was, said Gen. Tommy Franks, an understandable thing to do - American Marines, raising the flag after moving into the southern Iraqi city of Umm Qasr. Still, he's glad they took the flag down. ``I think that, in zeal, people will want to represent that they have achieved a certain milestone,'' Franks said at his briefing Saturday. ``And if you're from our country, then one of the first things that can pop into the young man's mind is to raise his national colors.'' But the...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 03/27/03 - Umm Qasr, Many patriotic nations and species, Iraqi T15 Minelayers, captured mines, weapons caches, freed Iraqis, water and aid delivered uncontrolled by SaddamGOTTA HEAR THIS BREAKING: Umm Qasr - Many patriotic nations and species BREAKING: Umm Qasr - Iraqi T15 Minelayers and captured mines BREAKING: Umm Qasr - weapons caches in trenches and "schools" and .... BREAKING: Umm Qasr - freed Iraqi citizens cheer BREAKING: Umm Qasr - terror is ending BREAKING: Umm Qasr - Iraqis receive water and aid uncontrolled by Saddam ========= Umm Qasr - Getting Freed by...