Posted on 01/28/2007 11:06:07 AM PST by cgk
Edited on 01/28/2007 11:44:41 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
| U.S., Iraqi forces kill 250 militants in Najaf Sun Jan 28, 2007 2:16 PM ET
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 250 gunmen in a fierce battle involving U.S. tanks and helicopters on the outskirts of the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, a senior Iraqi police officer said. The day-long battle was continuing after nightfall, Colonel Ali Nomas told Reuters, as tens of thousands of pilgrims converged on the nearby city of Kerbala for the climax of the Ashura commemorations. A U.S. helicopter was shot down in the fighting, Iraq security sources said. The U.S. military declined comment. A Reuters reporter saw a helicopter come down trailing smoke. Shi'ite political sources said the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to a cleric called Ahmed Hassani. In Baghdad, 13 people were killed in bombings in mainly Shi'ite areas, police said. Twin car bombs targeting ethnic Kurds killed 16 people as night fell in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, whose population is a volatile mix of Kurds, Turkmen and Sunni and Shi'ite Arabs. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have converged on Iraq's other main Shi'ite holy city, Kerbala, for Ashura, marking the 7th century Battle of Kerbala, which helped consolidate the schism between Shi'ite and Sunni Islam. It ends on Monday. It is the first time the 10-day annual ritual has been held since violence erupted last February between Iraq's majority Shi'ites and once-dominant minority Sunnis. Tens of thousands have since been killed in tit-for-tat killings. The governor of Najaf province said Iraqi troops fought a day-long battle with up to 200 Sunni gunmen, including foreign fighters, holed up in orchards on the northern outskirts of the city, seat of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite clerics. Governor Asaad Abu Gilel told Reuters the authorities had uncovered a plot to kill some of the clerics on Monday, to coincide with the climax of Ashura. "There is a conspiracy to kill the clergy on the 10th day of Muharram," Najaf governor Abu Gilel said, referring to the day of the Muslim calendar on Monday. A Reuters reporter about 1.5 km (1 mile) from the fighting said he heard intense gunfire and saw U.S. helicopters rocket groves sheltering militants. He saw smoke trailing from one helicopter before it came down in the midst of the fighting. He was unable to see what had happened to the helicopter, but officers in Iraq's 8th Army Division and policemen said it had crashed and that the two crew members were dead. The U.S. military said it did not comment on operations still taking place. (Additional reporting by Aseel Kami, Sherko Raouf in Sulaimaniya) |
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Fox was showing some cell phone video as well - unclear if it was this battle or an earlier one...
Kick some a$$, guys!
Sounds like Puff is on scene or they let the Big Dogs loose. Either way, Good hunting!
make sure evey one of the 250 is found with a gun in their hand. <*?Sarcasm off>
Whoop
I have to admit I was completely wrong on how hard I thought they'd go after the militias, based on some past history. I am pleased and impressed. I never thought maliki would support this as much as he seems to. I still wonder about it though.
Sheesh, that's a lot of virgins!
Just a headline so far at reuters...
BUMP!
I thought they said that cell phone footage was of one of our choppers going down.
With any luck, they have the ones running with their tils between their legs for Iran trapped and are killing them also.
Go Mother Green!
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
bttt
I thought so as well, but was afraid to say that in case I heard wrong - (plus, I tried to rewind my DVR and accidentally goofed.)...
Is this Shiite or Sunni territory?
I hope they're wrong, too. Too much of that these days.
Mostly Sunnis?
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/16567343.htm
U.S. helicopter shot down near Najaf
By Rich Mauer
McClatchy Newspapers
BAGHDAD, Jan. 28 - A U.S. helicopter was shot down early Sunday afternoon near the provincial capital Najaf during a pitched battle with fighters described as religious fanatics.
A McClatchy Newspapers correspondent from Najaf, Qasim Zen, observed the helicopter lose control and crash to the ground in flames after it appeared to have been struck by rocket fired from the ground. The correspondent had been observing the battle from a safe position about half a mile away from the fight in the village of al Zarga. Al Zarga is about 5 miles from Najaf and about 80 miles south of Baghdad.
No information on U.S. casualties was available. Military public affairs officials in Baghdad said Sunday afternoon they were unaware of the helicopter downing.
The correspondent observed the helicopter shot down about 1:35 p.m. Iraqi time Sunday (5:35 a.m. EST).
The battle is being fought against alleged religious fanatics. Iraqi intelligence had received several reports that this group of fighters planned to attack the religious shrine in Karbala Wednesday, the holy day of Ashura, and to kill all the clerics.
The Iraqi officials told the correspondent that the fighters, whom he described as Saddamists and Afghanis, infiltrated the area as Ashura pilgrims commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
The battle began with U.S. aerial bombardments Saturday night. Iraqi forces ground forces sealed off the area around 3 a.m. Sunday and begin an assault, assisted by U.S. helicopters and F-16 fighter jets. Maj. Hussain Muhammed of the Iraqi Army confimed the helicopter was down. "We do not know any other details yet, but there are flames raising," he said.
What really burns me up about all of this is why the *** didn't we do this before the election?
US and Iraqi forces killed 250 gunmen in a fierce battle involving US tanks and helicopters on the outskirts of the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf on Sunday, an Iraqi police officer says.
The day-long battle was continuing after nightfall, Colonel Ali Nomas told Reuters.
Shi'ite political sources say the gunmen appeared to be both Sunni Arabs and Shi'ites loyal to a cleric called Ahmed Hassani.
More to follow...
Do the shiites have any cities that aren't "holy"? Sheesh.
Great news, this...Let's hope that our losses are nonexistent and theirs are huge.
"At least 25 additional gunmen captured, some Somali . . ."
Located 190 km. south of the capital of Baghdad, Najaf is considered a "holy" city among Shi'a Muslims. It is here that 'Ali is buried: the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the person whom Shi'a Muslims believe should have succeeded the Prophet in leadership after his death. In 661 A.D., Ali was assassinated in Kufa, a town 11 km. northeast of Najaf.
Sounds like a possible Sadr hideout!
If it's near Najaf then it's almost certainly Shiites, and probably the Al Mahdi militia of Moqtada al Sadr, which probably means that the Iraq campaign will become even more difficult before anything gets better. If it's not the Al Mahdi then the next most likely candidate would be the Badr Brigades, which would be an interesting twist, since we haven't been battling them much to date.
Gee .. I never hear this type of news on the top of the hour news radio
HOOAH! More please.
Shiite Territory - The very heart.
What the hell is an alleged religious fanatic?
Articles I've been reading today indicated they were mostly Sunnis who moved to Karbala to begin attacks against Shiites during their religious holiday.
Excellent.
We need to continue to pray for our troops!!!!
the story just posted said a major sunni assault on the holy city to kill clerics was broken up.
Well, that's a new one. I haven't seen that name before.
Let's play offense boys...and Git er done!
Going against Sadr?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6307587.stm
Intense clashes have been taking place in orchards outside the holy city of Najaf, as Iraqi troops backed up by US forces battled several hundred armed men, whose identity is as yet unclear.
The provincial governor of Najaf said a US military helicopter had been shot down by what he called "enemy fire" in Zarqa, scene of the clashes, and Iraqi police were quoted as saying the two crew on board were dead.
A Reuters correspondent reported seeing an American helicopter trailing smoke after a burst of machine gun fire.
Thousands of pilgrims descend on Karbala for Ashura
US military officials would not comment on what they termed an ongoing operation but said the reports were being checked.
Concerns over security have been heightened as Shia Muslims mark the religious festival of Ashura, which in previous years has been hit by co-ordinated attacks.
Some 10,000 Iraqi police and security forces have stepped up patrols in Karbala, where Shia pilgrims have been converging.
Security has also been tightened along the 110km (70 miles) of highway from Baghdad to Karbala that runs through the Sunni areas, the French news agency AFP reports.
Ashura draws huge numbers of Shias to Karbala from across Iraq and beyond its borders.
Brings joy to my heart to know that the last thing some murdering, fleabag whackjob terrorist will see is the muzzle flash of a US Marine Rifle.
FR thread Mortars hit Iraqi girls' school; 5 dead
ap article Mortars hit Iraqi girls' school; 5 dead
SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Mortar shells rained down Sunday on a girls' secondary school in a mostly Sunni area of western Baghdad, killing five pupils and wounding 20, witnesses and police said. At least seven other people died in a series of bombings and shootings across the capital, mostly in Shiite areas.
Elsewhere, Iraqi troops backed by U.S. helicopters battled insurgents 12 miles northeast of the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraqi officials said. Provincial Gov. Assad Sultan Abu Klil said a U.S. helicopter went down during the fighting, but U.S. officials would not confirm the report.
Klil said the operation was launched after reports that insurgents planned to assassinate Shiite clerics and pilgrims during the Ashoura festival, which reaches its climax Tuesday.
Two car bombs exploded within a half-hour of each other in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, killing a total of 11 people and wounding 34, police Brig. Gen. Sarhad Qader said. The first blast, which killed six and wounded 19, occurred at a popular car market and the second went off near a restaurant.
Also Sunday, U.S. troops captured 21 suspected terrorists including an al-Qaida courier in a series of raids in Baghdad and Sunni areas north and west of the capital, the U.S. command said. Three of the suspects were believed to have close ties to the leadership of al-Qaida in Iraq, the military said.
The U.S. military also reported the deaths of three more American service members — all on Saturday. A Marine died from wounds suffered in fighting in Anbar province, a stronghold of Sunni insurgents, and two soldiers were fatally injured in separate bombings in the Baghdad area, the military said.
Sunday's mortar attack occurred about 11 a.m. at the Kholoud Secondary School in the Adil neighborhood of western Baghdad, police and school officials said. Several projectiles exploded in the courtyard, shattering windows and spraying pupils with glass. AP Television News footage showed blood smeared on the stone steps and walkways.
Hours after the attack, grieving parents wept as the bodies of the victims were placed inside wooden coffins. Police said four girls were killed instantly and a fifth died later. AP television footage showed the fin from one of the mortars lying in a walkway.
The area has been the scene of reprisal attacks by Sunni and Shiite extremists that have persisted as U.S. and Iraqi soldiers prepare for a security crackdown. A Sunni group, the General Conference of the People of Iraq, accused Shiite militias and said the markings on the mortars indicated they were manufactured in Iran.
More than 150 people, mostly Shiites, have died in bomb attacks in the last week as the majority Islamic sect in Iraq celebrates a 10-day festival leading up to Ashoura, the holiest date in the Shiite calendar.
Elsewhere, a bomb exploded about 7:30 a.m. in a minibus carrying passengers to a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad on Sunday, killing one and wounding five, police said.
The explosive device was hidden in a bag left by a passenger who got off the bus before it detonated in the Baladiyat neighborhood in eastern Baghdad. The bus was heading to the adjacent Shiite district of Sadr City, which has been targeted several times in the past.
A parked car bomb exploded in an intersection near an outdoor market in Sadr City about five hours later, killing at least four people, two of them women, and wounding 39, police said. The sprawling Shiite slum is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army that is loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has blamed for much of the country's spiraling violence.
About five minutes later, a bomb hidden in a bag exploded in an outdoor market in the Baiyaa neighborhood in western Baghdad, an area that is mostly Shiite, although a significant number of Sunnis live there. At least two people were killed and 17 wounded, including two children, police said.
Outside the capital, a car bomb exploded near a mosque in the Sunni city of Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding four, police said.
Iran, meanwhile, closed several border crossings with Iraq for Ashoura, which culminates on Tuesday with processions and ceremonies, including self flagellation, to mark the Shiite saint Imam Hussein's death in a battle.
Iranian state television said the crossings were closed to "contain the large number of pilgrims" bound for the Shiite holy city of Karbala in southern Iraq who were planning to cross into Iraq without "legal documents." The report indicated that not all border crossings had been closed and that some pilgrims were allowed through elsewhere.
Also Sunday, drive-by shooters killed a high-ranking Shiite official at the Iraqi industry and mines ministry, along with his 27-year-old daughter and two other people.
Insurgents have frequently targeted high-ranking Iraqi officials who are seen as collaborators with the U.S. forces. Last Wednesday, Iraq's higher education minister, a Sunni, escaped an assassination attempt after gunmen opened fire on his motorcade as he was traveling in southern Baghdad, killing one of his guards and seriously wounding another.
Harry Reid stated, "I just hope for the President's sake there are no Iranians being killed!"
[sarc. off]
It is a shame, but, you are right.
How bout long before the election - PC be damned!
As distinguished from.....?
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