Posted on 02/23/2008 9:03:10 AM PST by maquiladora
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A barrage of mortar bombs or rockets hit Baghdad's heavily protected Green Zone, home to the U.S. embassy and Iraqi government ministries, on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
A siren wailed in the Green Zone warning people to take cover amid a series of at least 10 explosions, Reuters reporters said.
"I can confirm that we did receive indirect fire and that it was multiple rounds," said U.S. military spokesman Major Brad Leighton, referring further queries to the U.S. embassy.
U.S. embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo refused to say whether there had been casualties or damaged.
"To maintain operational security, we do not comment on indirect fire into the International Zone," she said.
The 10 sq km (4 sq mile) Green Zone, located on the left bank of the Tigris River that cuts through Baghdad, has often been targeted by mortars and rockets, although attacks have declined as security has improved in the capital.
The U.S. military has blamed missile attacks on the Green Zone on so-called "special groups", rogue elements of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia they say receives funding and weapons from neighboring Iran. Iran denies the charge.
On Friday, Sadr renewed a six-month ceasefire which he first called in August to reorganize his splintered militia. The U.S. military welcomed the extension but said it would continue to hunt down the rogue units.
Fire them quickly and run for it.
You okay?
while not pleasant on the receiving end, 10 rounds is hardly a barrage.
More like a cowardly, cut and run, jihadists-who-can’t-use-a-compass fire mission.
They knew already that more than 5 rounds apiece was a death sentence.
This kind of thing is business as usual over there, and they usually don’t hit anyone or anything, but since nothing much else is going on in Iraq, and the MSM needs some bad news, it gets moved up to the front page. At least, it was on the front page of Yahoo.
That’s the truth. At some point down the road, I expect to see a headline like, “Marine sprains ankle during soccer game in Fallujah.”
“while not pleasant on the receiving end, 10 rounds is hardly a barrage.”
and rockets and mortar shells are NOTmissiles. but then it is from Al Reuter and they know even lees about the military than osamassiah.
Though any solid object traveling through the air can be defined as a “missile” the headline is intended to conjure an image of ordnance larger than rockets and mortar rounds.
Always lifting you up in prayer, especially when we get news like this.
Duplicate thread.. She posted the original herself.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974943/posts#5
Thank you so much. I appreciate that more than you know. **HUG**
It had been a long time since we'd heard those sounds. I'm not that far from the Green Zone, so we do hear all the racket. Hearing it first thing this morning was kind of surreal...I had almost forgotten that awful sound of those things.
All is well as far as I know. :-)
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