US bombards Iraq mosque complex

BBC ^ | 7 April, 2004

[traumer]

A US air strike has killed up to 40 people inside a mosque compound during heavy fighting in the Sunni Muslim Iraqi town of Falluja, witnesses say. The US military said the strike targeted insurgents who had fired from inside the mosque compound, wounding five Marines.

The US said it bombed the wall of the compound, not the mosque itself. The incident came as coalition troops fought separate uprisings by both Sunni and Shia Muslims in several towns.

If they use the mosque as a military machine, then it's no longer a house of worship and we strike - Lt Col Brennan Byrne

Hospital and military sources in Falluja say more than 100 Iraqis have been killed since Tuesday in the town, where US forces have been fighting street battles with insurgents.

At least 30 coalition troops have also been killed in Iraq since Monday, including 12 US Marines in a single attack in the town of Ramadi on Tuesday. It is the worst escalation of fighting since Baghdad fell to US-led forces a year ago.

Map of recent uprisings US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said US forces dropped two 227kg (500-pound) bombs and fired rockets at the wall of the Abdul-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque in Falluja.

"My understanding is that we went after one set of insurgents that were hiding behind the outer wall of a mosque, not the mosque itself," he told CNN television from Baghdad.

The US Marine colonel said Sunni insurgents had been using the site to fire on US forces with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades.

"If they use the mosque as a military machine, then it's no longer a house of worship and we strike," said Lt Col Brennan Byrne.

But he later told the AFP news agency that despite reporting up to 40 insurgents killed, US forces did not find any bodies inside the mosque compound.

"When we hit that building I thought we had killed all the bad guys, but when we went in they didn't find any bad guys in the building," Col Byrne said.

He speculated that the insurgents had either escaped before the bomb attack, or that Iraqis had taken away the dead bodies in the 30-40 minutes before Marines entered the bombed area.

Residents said the office of a religious organisation was hit, but no significant damage was reported to the mosque itself.

The BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs says US officials accept that troops are now engaged in the most difficult type of fighting - the kind of urban warfare that never really materialised in the initial stages of the conflict.

Escalation

The US military on Monday launched an operation to "pacify" Falluja and Ramadi - both within the Sunni triangle that has until now been the centre of opposition to the occupation.

MEHDI ARMY

Named after Mehdi - the "promised one" in Islam Created in summer of 2003 - the first Shia militia to organise on the ground Fewer than 10,000 members Ideology: defend Muslim faith

Mehdi Army Profile: Radical cleric In quotes: Moqtada Sadr The aim is to flush out insurgents who killed four American contractors last week, dragging their burned and mutilated bodies through the streets.

But violence by the Shia Muslim Mehdi Army has opened a second front for US-led coalition troops.

The US military has vowed to "destroy" the militia group, set up last June by radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the coalition's local headquarters in the southern town of Kut, which is now under the control of the Mehdi Army.

The Mehdi Army - thought to have up to 10,000 members - also appears to control the holy city of Najaf, and the town of Kufa.

In other developments:

US President George W Bush, at his ranch in Texas, holds a video-conference call with top advisers. They are believed to include the top US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and the head of the US-led forces Gen John Abizaid. Mr Bush also speaks by telephone to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Moqtada Sadr issues a statement from Najaf calling for power in Iraq to be handed over to "honest men" and not to collaborators of the US-led occupation.

The Shia spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, condemns the coalition's handling of the Shia uprising and appeals for calm on all sides and an end to violence.

A US soldier is killed as his vehicle is attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade outside a police station in Baghdad, the US military says.

Eight Iraqis are killed in clashes with US troops during a demonstration near the northern city of Kirkuk, police say.

A US military helicopter makes an emergency landing after it is hit by small arms fire near the central town Baquba, the US military says. The two US pilots were unharmed.

An aide to Mr Sadr is killed in clashes with coalition troops in the town of Karbala, where Polish-led troops are based.

[traumer]

Oh my God... now they will get mad

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[Diogenesis]

Evil terrorists shold be taken out in whatever hole they reside, don'tcha think?

---

[joltinjoe]

Bombed a Mosk with 40 dead.....good start.

[End Times Sentinel]

You can't not love this guy...

 

When asked why the mosque was bombed he responded  "We wanted to kill the people inside,"

Owl_Eagle

" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

You can't not love this guy...

When asked why the mosque was bombed he responded  "We wanted to kill the people inside,"

Owl_Eagle

" WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

[Argus]

The Shia spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, condemns the coalition's handling of the Shia uprising

Go hump a goat, you useless fraud.

An aide to Mr Sadr is killed in clashes with coalition troops in the town of Karbala, where Polish-led troops are based.

Thank you, Poland.

[traumer]

Lt Col Brennan Byrne is a rising star !
I hope there are more like him.

[bogdanPolska12]

Oh man if I could only tell you what I know. But I cannot.
Soon after everything is done and over I will say some things.

Stay alert guys, what you hear in media is half, there is more to it, but let media talk. I will just stand by on a sideline, and smiling.

God bless you all, pray for troops, victory is already on your doorsteps.

Bogdan

[smiley]

God speed...stay safe...and watch your butt!

[bogdanPolska12]

I love these reporters. The way the twist the reality, always to blame USA, if you read this article, you can almost see a cry of tear how dare USA attack Mosque!

I will wait till everything is over, for I will put this reporter to such a shame he will wish he never wrote this.

I have no love for stupidity especially when I know what is going on. Guys in BBC, wake up please, and stop hurting our intelligence!!!

[BunnySlippers]

Kerry hit on cosmetic issue (Kerry getting Botox treatments?) NY Daily News ^ | 01-27-04 Posted on 01/27/2004 4:12:37 AM PST by veronica The down and dirty New Hampshire primary ends tonight - not a moment too soon for front-runner John Kerry. Since the Massachusetts senator's Iowa victory last week, operatives for rival Democratic campaigns have been insinuating that Kerry is getting Botox injections, paralyzing the muscles that produce worry lines. Yesterday - the same day I received such a call from a hardened spin doctor versed in the black arts of negative campaigning - Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter told me she has been busy denying the rumor for the past week. "Have you looked at him?" Cutter demanded, referring to her creased, droopy-eyed candidate. "He looks like a 60-year-old man who has been working too hard running for President, with little time for sleep and no time to worry about what he looks like." The Botox attack apparently wasn't dismissed from the get-go because Kerry's 65-year-old wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, openly touts her regular use of the wrinkle-fighting treatments. The Chicago Tribune put the rumor into public circulation with a story last week, and the Boston Herald followed up with a Sunday editorial noting that "Kerry does look a darn bit shinier than usual." But his spokeswoman explained it this way: "Our opponents can't attack us on the issues, so now they're attacking us on cosmetics. Pathetic."

It's good news? Right?

[BunnySlippers]

Oops, I should preview. It's good news that you know about, right?

[AngryJawa]

Oh man if I could only tell you what I know. But I cannot.

No one likes a "tease", Bogdan. 8^)

My Polish-American pride is really pumped up today. I'm so glad my name ends with an -s-k-i!

[Adam36]

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is a fraud. He never once said a word about Saddam gassing the Kurds.

[kitkat]

***The BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs says US officials accept that troops are now engaged in the most difficult type of fighting - the kind of urban warfare that never really materialised in the initial stages of the conflict. ***

Where the heck was this reporter during the "initial stages of the conflict"? I guess nobody told him about the guys on the rooftop in Baghdad shooting at our guys.

[rageaholic]

Long Live Poland!

[bogdanPolska12]

Ping, help me guys here, am I missing something here or is this personal attack on me.

Sir you are totally missing my point. Do me a favor ping RagtimeCowgirl and she will explain to you.

You have no clue from elbow to bimbo. That was a cheap shot, so I will just laugh at it.

Be good bro

Just to let you know, yes I do know more what is going in Iraq then some stupid article about Kerry. And yes, I have info that you will find out in Media after hours and is not even half true.

But I hope you are ok and God Bless you
Bogdan.

[Danette]

Do you work for the government?


Let the media talk about WHAT?

[Arthalion]

Umm, Sistani spent more than his share of time in an Iraqi prison cell for opposing Saddam. Saddam didn't dare kill him, though, because the Iraqi Shiites look upon him the same way Catholics look at the Pope. If he says revolt, they all revolt. If he says be calm, his followers (about 90% of the Iraqi Shiite population) all stay calm. If he dies, they get revenge.

Sistani isn't our friend, but I have to point out that he rightfully condemned the people who defiled the bodies in Fallujah and called it unIslamic and evil. Even now Sistani is still calling for calm and trying to stop the fighting. He isn't happy with us, but he's not happy with Sadr either.

We need tp support Sistani for three reasons: Sistani may be anti-American, but he's not an extremist, he vocally opposes terrorism, and he is the spiritual leader of most of Iraq's people. If he is killed, the odds are pretty good that Sadr or one of the other extremists will make a play for his position which could play VERY badly for our troops.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We've come a long way from Robert Strange MacNamara.