Iraqis in anti-American protest after arms blast

Khaleej Times ^ | 4/26/03

[areafiftyone]

ZAAFARANIYA, Iraq - About 500 Iraqi men, chanting anti-American, pro-Islam slogans, drove in a convoy of trucks, buses and cars out of the Baghdad suburb hit by a huge arms dump blast on Saturday.

Reuters correspondent Rosalind Russell saw a first truck carrying six coffins, apparently containing bodies, followed by the rest of the convoy as it passed a US military checkpoint set up after angry residents forced out American troops.

“No Americans or Saddam; Yes, Yes to Islam!” the men chanted in Arabic, some of them flying green Islamic flags and banners. Among the slogans were two in English: “Stop Explosions Near Civilians” and “The Terror After War”.

US officers blamed unidentified attackers for firing flares into the dump to set off a series of huge explosions.

Irate residents said they had complained before that US forces were bringing munitions into the area from elsewhere and blowing them up in powerful detonations.

[Theyknow]

More liberal drool. They love us over there.

[areafiftyone]

The liberal media LIVES for this stuff! They want to see the war as a failure! The U.S. needs to round up these people and tell them that we will not tolerate this kind of stuff anymore.

[dawn53]

500 men in a city of 5 million

[Diogenesis]

The complaintants were led by American reporters
who probably also directed the looting in which they were caught.

By contrast, freed Iraqis LOVE AMERICANS WHO FREED THEM.

[SubMareener]

Actually, it appears the folks who were protesting were the folk who fired the flare into the ammo dump and caused the explosion. Then they blame us for it.

Just remember, 80% of the US Press Corps thinks it is our fault, too! ;-)

[SandRat]

“No Americans or Saddam; Yes, Yes to Islam!” the men chanted in Arabic, some of them flying green Islamic flags and banners.

They need to wake up and smell the coffee. Keep this crap up and they will likely find about the US/British version of what Britain did after the Grand Mufti's mass-mobs under the "green banner" Murdered Gen. Gordon at Khartoum. If they disliked the outcome of Khartoum, they will definately dislike the outcome of a forced Joint US/British one.

[MizSterious]

The media is doing its best to portray our troops as bumblers, thieves, and abusers of "children." Just check some of the recent postings here on Free Republic--a lot of freepers are eating it up, too.

[browardchad]

Actually, it appears the folks who were protesting were the folk who fired the flare into the ammo dump and caused the explosion. Then they blame us for it.

With preprinted signs (in English) for their "spontaneous" demonstration. What a coincidence.

[areafiftyone]

We need to round these people up and tell them to either go back to Iran or stop inciting people. Something is going to happen if we don't put a stop to it soon. I don't want to see any of our soldiers get hurt by these trouble makers!

[Cacique]

Notice the Madonna and Child on the upper right hand corner. The blast obviously occured in a Christian neighborhood. Who wants to bet that Muslim radicals targeted it on purpose! I am surpirsed that no-one has pointed this out. On the other hand, maybe the press is not reporting it on purpose or they are doing a lousy job at reporting.

.

Sun Apr 27,10:13 AM ET

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An Iraqi man sits in despair in the ruins of his house April 27, 2003, at Zaafaraniya on the outskirts of Baghdad. A powerful blast which the U.S. military said was caused by unknown attackers firing an incendiary device into an Iraqi munitions store at Zaafaraniya killed several Iraqi civilians on Saturday. Local residents said U.S. troops had packed cars with confiscated weapons and detonated them at the site. The Americans denied this. REUTERS/Petr Josek

[Cacique]

ping