Hmmm, the old bomb making class in the mosque trick?
Posted on 07/02/2003 8:36:49 AM PDT by Stultis
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 2, 2003 – A bomb manufacturing class being taught inside the Al Hasan Mosque in Fallujah was apparently the cause of the early July 1 explosion there, according to U.S. Central Command officials.
Coalition forces had no involvement in the incident, according to an ongoing investigation by coalition troops and local police. U.S. 3rd Infantry Division troops had responded to the incident after a U.S. aircraft had notified officials about the blast, according to CENTCOM.
In other news, one of six American troops wounded during July 1 anti-coalition attacks in Iraq has died, according to a CENTCOM news release.
Assailants attacked the soldier's convoy – which was traveling through Baghdad -- with an improvised explosive device, the release noted.
The soldier -- a member of the Army's 352nd Civil Affairs Command – was evacuated to the 28th Combat Support Hospital for medical treatment, but succumbed to his wounds. Two other troops were injured in the attack.
The name of the deceased soldier is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Three other Americans serving in Iraq were wounded July 1 in a separate incident, according to Combined Joint Task Force 7 officials.
Not getting better than a C+ in bomb making class can really be a bitch.
Bomb making class. "House of worship." Something here just doesn't seem right...
And I thought teaching Algebra to the unwashed was dangerous!!!!! LOL!!
Iraqis Call For Jihad Against U.S.; "Every Iraqi is worth more than 40 Americans,"...
An explosion late Monday in a mosque compound in Fallujah that killed 10 Iraqis, including the mosque's spiritual leader, has enraged the city's residents and prompted calls for a holy war against the United States.People in Fallujah said Tuesday that American forces launched a missile into the mosque, a charge the U.S. military denied...
"Every Iraqi is worth more than 40 Americans," shouted Salah Kuder, his face dripping sweat as he gestured angrily with his fist. "If they think we're afraid of their guns, we're not. This is not Afghanistan. Are they here to help us or are they here to kill us?"
The explosion late Monday at Fallujah's al Hassan mosque decimated a small building that contained the sleeping quarters, office and classroom of the mosque's imam, the Muslim equivalent of a minister. Most locals interviewed said a U.S. military helicopter or plane fired a missile at the building. A U.S. Army commander in the city denied those charges, saying the explosion came from within the structure...
Blood was splattered against the wall of the mosque, which adjoined the building. Volumes of the Koran in a heap were burned and smeared with blood.
The imam, Laith Khalil, was teaching a small group of students about 10:50 p.m. when the boom came, said Abu Omar, who leads the call to prayer for the mosque.
Khalil was found in the street and taken to a hospital in Baghdad, where he soon died, according to medical staff.
Those closer to the source of the explosion were torn to pieces. Fragments of intestines were wrapped in blankets in front of the mosque Tuesday morning before being placed in coffins.
"We heard the noises of aircraft over us," said Omar, who said he was on the grounds of the mosque at the time. "There was a light in the air, and a rocket fell and hit the classroom."
As Omar spoke softly under a thatch roof, which hung over a series of prayer mats, hundreds of angry men milled about.
"It is a war against Islam," said Annis Abdul Sater. "Not only the Iraqi people but all the Muslims in the world will fight the Americans."
Sater said he was at the April demonstration in Fallujah when American soldiers shot and killed more than 12 residents. At the time, he said, he thought the troops may have been targeting the crowd - which was protesting the U.S. presence in town - because it was a group of Muslims, but he decided to reserve judgment. The explosion Monday night, he said, made up his mind: The Americans must be killed, he said, because they are the enemies of Islam.
Other agreed.
"If they kill one of us, we will kill 10 of them," said Munir Abad, the veins on his face bulging with rage. "We will win. By Allah's will, we will win."
Holding a Koran with blood on its creases, Hamza Hussein pumped the book in the air and shouted, "There is no God but Allah. America is the enemy." A crowd of men and children, fists raised, screamed back, "There is no God but Allah. America is the enemy."
Many at the mosque said the Americans targeted Khalil because he'd spoken harshly about U.S. troops at Friday prayers...
'Bomb class' shook mosque
02/07/2003 17:05 - (SA)
Baghdad - US authorities in Iraq denied on Wednesday they were responsible for an explosion at a mosque this week in which seven people were killed, saying a bomb-making class was instead the cause of the blast.
"An investigation conducted by coalition forces and Fallujah police into the explosion at the al-Hassan mosque ... has determined that coalition forces were in no way responsible for the explosion," the military said in a statement.
"The explosion was apparently related to a bomb-manufacturing class that was being taught inside the mosque," it added.
US troops had earlier taken to the streets of Fallujah in an effort to scotch rumours that a coalition missile fired from a jet had been behind the blast late on Monday that killed four people believed to be theology students.
Two others and the imam of the mosque later died of their injuries.
The US explanation fitted with one rumour circulating in the flashpoint town - that the imam was providing instructions in the use of rocket-propelled grenades.
The rockets, designed for knocking out tanks, have been the weapon of choice in a string of attacks on US positions in the town, around 50km west of Baghdad and a Sunni Muslim bastion.
The town has been the scene of regular attacks on US troops since they shot dead at least 16 protesters in April.
"Coalition forces continue to be respectful of Muslim tradition by not entering the mosque while continuing to assist Iraqi police with the investigation," the US statement concluded.
There are only two grades, "A's" and "Booms".
The next NYT Front Page:
Iraq Facing Extreme Teacher Shortage
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