Iraqis Drag Four Corpses Through Streets

AP ^ | March 31, 2004 | SAMEER N. YACOUB

[Charles Henrickson]

FALLUJAH, Iraq - Jubilant residents dragged the charred corpses of four foreigners — one a woman, at least one an American — through the streets Wednesday and hanged them from the bridge spanning the Euphrates River. Five American soldiers died in a roadside bombing nearby.

The four foreigners were killed in a rebel ambush of their SUVs in Fallujah, a Sunni Triangle city about 35 miles west of Baghdad and scene of some of the worst violence on both sides of the conflict since the beginning of the American occupation a year ago.

It was reminiscent of the 1993 scene in Somalia, when a mob dragged the corpse of a U.S. soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation.

In one of the bloodiest days for the U.S. military this year, five 1st Infantry Division soldiers died when their military vehicle ran over a bomb in a separate incident 12 miles to the northwest, among the reed-lined roads running through some of Iraq's richest farmland.

Residents said the bomb attack occurred in Malahma, 12 miles northwest of Fallujah, where anti-U.S. insurgents are active. U.S. Marines operate in the area, but it was unclear whether the slain troops were Marines.

Chanting "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans," residents cheered after the grisly assault on two four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles, which left both in flames. Others chanted, "We sacrifice our blood and souls for Islam."

Associated Press Television News pictures showed one man beating a charred corpse with a metal pole. Others tied a yellow rope to a body, hooked it to a car and dragged it down the main street of town. Two blackened and mangled corpses were hung from a green iron bridge across the Euphrates.

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

Beneath the bodies, a man held a printed sign with a skull and crossbones and the phrase "Fallujah is the cemetery for Americans."

APTN showed the charred remains of three slain men. Some were wearing flak jackets, said resident Safa Mohammedi.

One resident displayed what appeared to be dog tags taken from one body. Residents also said there were weapons in the targeted cars. APTN showed one American passport near a body and a U.S. Department of Defense identification card belonging to another man.

U.S. military officials in Washington said the situation was still confused but they did not think the victims were American soldiers and believed the SUVs were not American military vehicles.

Witnesses said the two vehicles were attacked with small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades.

Hours after the attack, the city was quiet. No U.S. troops or Iraqi police were seen in the area.

Fallujah is in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where support for Saddam Hussein was strong and rebels often carry out attacks against American forces.

In nearby Ramadi, insurgents threw a grenade at a government building and Iraqi security forces returned fire Wednesday, witnesses said. It was not clear if there were casualties.

Also in Ramadi, a roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. convoy, witnesses said. U.S. officials in Baghdad could not confirm the attack.

On Tuesday in Ramadi, one U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded in a roadside bombing, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.

Northeast of Baghdad, in the city of Baqouba on Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew up explosives in his car when he was near a convoy of government vehicles, wounding 14 Iraqis and killing himself, officials said.

The attacked convoy is normally used to transport the Diala provincial governor, Abdullah al-Joubori, but he was elsewhere at the time, said police Col. Ali Hossein.

On Tuesday, a suicide bombing outside the house of a police chief in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed the attacker and wounded seven others.

A bomb exploded late Tuesday in a movie theater that had closed for the night. Two bystanders were wounded by flying glass, said its owner, Ghani Mohammed.

The latest violence came two days after Carina Perelli, the head of a U.N. electoral team, said better security is vital if Iraq wants to hold elections by a Jan. 31 deadline. The polls are scheduled to follow a June 30 transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi government.

Top U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer said Tuesday he had appointed 21 anti-corruption inspectors general to government departments to try to prevent fraud. More will be named in coming days, he said.

The inspectors will work with two other newly formed, independent agencies. Together, they will "form an integrated approach intended to combat corruption at every level of government across the country," Bremer said.

[Loyal Buckeye]

Things are definitely heating up and will continue to do so prior to the June 30 elections.

[genefromjersey]

I've just finished a short article on this atrocity.
You can find it here:
http://citizengene.blogspot.com

It's short,but very likely worth reading.

[Charles Henrickson]

[TexKat]

Prayers for these poor souls and all others in harms way trying to bring goodness and freedom to others. This is sad.

[thoughtomator]

Guess we can figure out where is the local source of support for Islamic terrorists. Take GPS reading twice, nuke once.

[Charles Henrickson]

I almost hesitate to post this, but at least it is not a close-up of the charred bodies hanging from the bridge:

[Tallguy]

I read that new "sonic weapon" that the Navy & Marines are fielding can create permanent deafness. I think we have a target! You want to participate in an atrocity like this one, be prepared to learn sign language.

[1Old Pro]

Beneath the bodies, a man held a printed sign with a skull and crossbones and the phrase "Fallujah is the cemetery for Americans."

What we need is to send in some NYC or New Orleans cops to break a few heads.

[Charles Henrickson]

[TonyWojo]

There was that Professor form Columbia, DeGenova. He had wish for a million Mogadeshu's. May he choke to death on his own words.

[Bush Cheney]

So were they the soldiers or not????

[Charles Henrickson]

[petercooper]

These s.o.b. kids look just like the palestinian animals. We have their pictures, hunt them down and kill them.

[avital2]

Now what we need is NON-Somalia type reaction: go after them with a vengeance they'll never forget. No cutting and running a la Clinton.

[Charles Henrickson]

[Charles Henrickson]

[goldstategop]

President Clinton cut and ran after one American was dragged by mobs in Somala. The Iraqi terrorists and their civilian supporters, by putting on a similar display, think President Bush is made of the same stuff. They'll soon receive their answer.

[Skywarner]

Excellent read. Your theory about these poor souls being a WMD search team makes sense based upon the current information coming from the area.

I truly look forward to the Coalition response. May it show no mercy on these barbarians. Gen. Pershing may have had the right idea back in 1911 after all.

[Charles Henrickson]

[af_vet_1981]

These s.o.b. kids look just like the palestinian animals. We have their pictures, hunt them down and kill them.

Consider anyone cheering the death of our soldiers to be enemy combatants.

"Make it so Number One."

[Charles Henrickson]

[Unicorn]

The religion of peace strikes again.

[Charles Henrickson]

[Liberty Valance]

I think they will hear from us very soon...

[Charles Henrickson]

[Blue Scourge]

OMG...how can human beings celebrate like that (rhetorical question)....Hell, even if we caught OBL I wouldn't dance in the street on his corpse...I sometimes wonder why we are trying to improve the lives of barbarians.

[FreedomPoster]

Interesting theses and points in your blog.

[HarryCaul]

"It was reminiscent of the 1993 scene in Somalia, when a mob dragged the corpse of a U.S. soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation."

This is *exactly* why this happened. The Clinton administration (of which Richard Clarke was a key member) cut and ran, so we'll face these same tactics until someone else shows them differently.

[Puppage]

Iraqis Drag Four Corpses Through Streets

THIS, is why we have Trident missles.

[TomGuy]

from Gary Brookins
[Richmond] Times-Dispatch
Mar 18, 2004




The Spanish chose appeasement. We can't afford to choose it.

[pgyanke]

Things are definitely heating up and will continue to do so prior to the June 30 elections.

And November... think "Spain".

[thoughtomator]

The choice of war is also the choice to surrender the protection of rights, a reversion to the Hobbesian state of nature. Protection of rights is dependent on giving up the natural right to use force to impose one's will on others.

They chose the war, it's up to us to finish it. They need to learn that there is no place on earth where we will tolerate them waging war upon us.

[brownsfan]

Doesn't matter, they were people. And this is how those animals react. I'm in favor of the nuke on Fallujah.

I say it again: Damn them, Damn them all.

[Polybius]

The people of Fallujah hanged some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep," resident Abdul Aziz Mohammed said. Some of the corpses were dismembered, he said. Beneath the bodies, a man held a printed sign with a skull and crossbones and the phrase "Fallujah is the cemetery for Americans."

Here is how I would handled this Sunni Triangle snake pit:

1. Set up a cordon sanitaire around Fallujah. Nobody goes in. The residents only go out, once, through check points to be sorted into "totally harmeless" or "in need of imprisonment"

2. Wait as long as it takes to have nobody left in the city except the Bathist die-hards.

3. Wage mechanical urban warfare on the city and the holdouts with heavy emphasis on air power and artillery and practically no emphasis on infantry.

4. Sustain the attack until there is not a stray dog left alive to roam the streets.

[Charles Henrickson]

There are several photos I, for one, cannot bear to post, because they are too awful. But I will post the links, for those who want to see what they have done.

Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as charred bodies hang from a bridge

[dfwgator]

And November... think "Spain".

We ain't Spain.

[MindBender26]

The only French troops ever successful in Vietnam were not French at all. They were FFL, former Waffen SS regulars, serving 5 years in the FFL to "erase" their prior lives.

One of their convoys was ambushed. They came into a town and simply told the residents that every time a Frenchman (German) was killed, 10 locals would quietly disappear.

There was one more ambush. 2 Germans died. 20 locals disappeared.

There were no more attacks on the FFL in that vil. War is hell

[MindBender26]

The media and the Frogs would scream.... for about 2 weeks.... then it would be forgotten.... and it would not need to be done again.

[Charles Henrickson]

Another photo too awful for me to post:

Iraqis mutilate a burnt body of a dead man believed to be a US citizen

[ThermoNuclearWarrior]

We should seriously round up every scumbag on that Video and give them a public hanging in the middle of Fallujah. That's something those disgusting pieces of s**t would understand.

[MindBender26]

Trident: nah., too expensive. Davy Crockett or the 155mm nuc round.

Ain't molecular physics wonderful

[Charles Henrickson]

Another photo too awful for me to post:

Flames engulf the remains of a person

[cartoonistx]

"Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans Islamist Bast@rds!"

[Polybius]

Before Post 37 is carried out, the bridge needs to be destroyed tomorrow and left destroyed.

[Tallguy]

I have a better idea, use a frigging MOAB and dust these bastards once and for all.

I hear ya, but we both know that destroying an entire city & it's inhabitants is not possible. It might be satisfying to contemplate, but it just ain't gonna happen -- we'd lose before that would happen.

By using the sonic weapon you are:

1. using non-lethal force,
2. crippling the demonstrators who must then make their way in an Islamic society that doesn't tolerate the handicapped, and
3. sending a message to the masses that any spontaneous demonstrations following a terror attack will be decisively dealt with.

And, by the way, any patrol that finds itself dealing with a deaf Iraqi can be pretty sure that they are dealing with a terrorist sympathizer.

[Charles Henrickson]

A differrent photo of the same scene:

Flames engulf the remains of a person killed in Fallujah