Posted on 03/23/2005 7:22:37 AM PST by 11th_VA
BAGHDAD—Ordinary Iraqis rarely strike back at the insurgents who terrorize their country. But just before noon yesterday, a carpenter named Dhia saw a group of masked gunmen with grenades coming toward his shop and decided he had had enough.
As the gunmen emerged from their cars, Dhia, 35, and his young relatives shouldered their own AK-47s and opened fire, the police and witnesses said. In the fierce gun battle that followed, three of the insurgents were killed and the rest fled just after the police arrived. Two of Dhia's nephews and a bystander were injured, the police said.
"We attacked them before they attacked us," Dhia said in a brief exchange at his shop a few hours after the battle, his face still contorted with rage and excitement. He did not give his last name. "We killed three of those who call themselves the mujahedeen. I am waiting for the rest of them to come and we will show them."
It was the first time private citizens are known to have retaliated successfully against insurgents. There have been anecdotal reports of residents shooting at attackers after a bombing or assassination, but yesterday's gun battle erupted in full view of half a dozen witnesses, including a justice ministry official who lives nearby.
The battle was the latest sign that Iraqis may be willing to start standing up against the attacks that leave dozens of people dead here nearly every week. After a suicide bombing in Hilla last month that killed 136 people, including women and children, hundreds of residents demonstrated in front of city hall every day for almost a week, chanting slogans against terrorism. Last week, a smaller rally took place in Baghdad. Another demonstration is scheduled for today in the capital.
Finally, it begins. Terrorist quagmire ahead.
Bump.
Good news.
Don't mess with the carpenters union! I like these guys.
Too bad the MSM won't help keep this snowball rolling downhill. Vermin.
Another example supporting of our right to bear arms. Of course, Gore, Kerry, Hillary and others don't see it that way.
I'm waiting for MoDo, Krugman, Couric, Ward Churchhill, et al, etc., to start calling Iraqui's fighting back for their own country criminals or tools of the West and George Bush. Chavez and Castro will start(if they haven't already) sending aid to the "insurgents" (Islamofascist thugs).
And Hillary wants to know why we have the 2nd Amendment. Guns in the hands of "ordinary" citizens help keep a country free from terrorists. Most people want law and order and freedom.
(idiot liberal On) There is no reason why would a law abiding citizen need an AK-47. (idiot liberal OFF)
And that was a real AK-47.
It has been proven that there are terrorist in the US. When do we get our (real) AK-47s?
Yes, they have the tools to resist, and it appears their resolve is growing and their patience waning.
Well. I'm glad the Iraqis are finally claiming ownership of their country.
It is not a first. In Ramadi (IIRC) before the election a village killed a bunch of terrorists who tried to intimidate them out of voting.
Can we get a ruling on their 72 virgins?
Yes, they get the 72 virgins, but all of them look like Helen Thomas on a bad hair day.
Excellent call.
Dhia, 35, and his young relatives
WAY TO GO! Reclaim your civilities, reclaim your culture. Yahoo!
The feeling of Freedom must be setting in!
I only hope we dont find Mr. Dhia some day with his head cut off, I hope the Iraquis are giving hiom some sort of protection or that he is now especially alert.
I like this story, but mentioning his name in American papers is like putting a target on this guys back.
I guess Michael Moore would call these patriots "collaborators".
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