Posted on 09/13/2004 4:20:30 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
Members of Shura Council of Mujahedeen show US army’s remote-controlled drone that they shot down in Fallujah, Iraq, on Sunday. (AP Photo)
US military has reported no such loss near the embattled Iraqi city.
“In proud Fallujah, thanks be to God, a spying American plane was shot down,'' said a statement signed by the Tawhid and Jihad group and posted on the Internet on Monday. The message's authenticity could not be confirmed, but it appeared on a Website known for carrying statements by Islamic militant groups.
Tawhid and Jihad is linked to the al-Qaeda terror network and led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It claimed responsibility for the series of attacks on US and Iraqi government targets on Sunday, one of the heaviest days of fighting in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein last year.
On Sunday, a previously unknown group, the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen (holy warriors) in Iraq, claimed to have shot down a US. Marine drone near Fallujah in a video tape broadcast on Al-Arabiya satellite television.
Neither claim said when the drone was downed.
The US military has not reported the loss of any drone in Iraq in recent days. But Associated Press Television News filmed people dancing in Fallujah's streets on Sunday, holding what appeared to be pieces of an aircraft bearing the word “Marines.''
The US military did not provide any information.
In its Monday statement, Tawhid and Jihad boasted that it fired about 400 rockets at 50 targets on Sunday, when at least 60 people died in Iraq – 37 in Baghdad alone.
Some of the casualties were inflicted when a US helicopter fired on a crowd cheering around a disabled US armoured vehicle in Baghdad.
“For the first time, there was no failure in the firing or targeting of any rocket, which is a precedent, thanks be only to God,'' the message said.
The statement hailed Sunday's offensive as a “blessed battle'' that “humiliated the infidels.'' It took responsibility for attacks in Fallujah and Ramadi, two cities west of Baghdad.
Tawhid and Jihad, which means monotheism and holy war, has been at the forefront of the opposition to the U.S.-led forces in Iraq and has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and beheading of several foreigners.
US authorities consider its leader, al-Zarqawi, to be an ally of al-Qaida commander Osama bin Laden but say he runs his own terrorist operation.
Relax, its only a drone, I wonder if such drones could be packed with explosives to remotely trigger them, when confronted by a crowd of 'slammies. It would then create a 'slammie soup the sane world can revel, and also give clues on terrorist-concentrated areas.
Revell model kit...
My thoughts exactly. That downed spy plane would probably double as a trojan horse...
Actually, they don't know that we smear them with bacon grease before launching..it keeps the sand from gumming up the insides..
UAV from Stargate SG-1
SciFi channel just aired that episode last week.
Even if this is true it won't do much for their safety.
Watch for a suppression of the press around Fallujah (maybe after the election) and these jokers will have more to worry about than a model airplane.
Looking at the picture again, it appears to be a small U.S. Marine drone used in tactical operations, Not U.S. Army as titled.
The AP is dummer than Sh!+. It says plain as day on the John F'n wing Marines. Yet they say it's an Army spy plane. It's a dang spotter drone.
Don't those things have GPS in them????</p>
Wonder if any kind of locating transmitter is aboard and still active? If so, their hideout will be bombed shortly....
They took the bait!
Initiate arming sequence....
I hope it has a tracking device. For a cruise missle!
That's it...just move in a little closer for the picture boys.....BLAM!!!!!
Thats Ok Mulla Madman, The drone has aready sent your location back to the marines. Bye Bye
Look at AP's headline,declaring that a spy plane has been shot down,and then in the article saying "well we don't really know".
It's in remarkably good condition for being "shot down."
I wonder if they know how stupid they look, gathered around what is essentially scrap. They may as well be gathered around the tire of a humvee? Military equipment is expendable, and once it crashes, burns, or is otherwise of no use, it has no meaning at all.
That kind of stupidity can be useful, just look at my first reply, right below the article.
The story is from the Times of India, maybe they changed AP's photo caption?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.