Posted on 02/27/2004 6:09:33 PM PST by blam
US troops starting to repel shadowy forces
By Patrick Bishop in Falluja
(Filed: 28/02/2004)
In their frustrating war with Iraqi enemies of the occupation, coalition troops are enjoying a run of success, killing a notorious bomb-maker and capturing a group suspected of two bloody suicide bombings.
At the same time, the shadowy forces battling the occupiers appear to have admitted they are now under severe pressure from the Americans and local security forces.
The latest coalition success is the death of Abu Mohammed Hamza, a bomb-making expert and lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom America has identified as its No 1 enemy in Iraq.
Hamza was trapped by American civil affairs soldiers as he delivered leaflets door-to-door last week in the town of Habbaniya, west of Baghdad. Hamza opened fire and was shot dead. Several other suspects were arrested.
Soldiers discovered a cache of bomb-making equipment, pro-Saddam literature and pictures of al-Zarqawi.
The success will delight the Americans who say al-Zarqawi has close ties with Osama bin Laden and al-Qa'eda and is suspected of involvement in the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, an explosion in a mosque in Najaf and an attack on an Italian military camp in Nasiriya.
A $10 million reward has been offered for information leading to his capture or death.
Polish troops serving with the coalition said they had captured nine suspected militants in the Karbala region of southern Iraq.Gen Mieczyslaw Bieniek, the Polish commander, said they could have been involved in attacks earlier this month in Iskandariyah and Hillah which killed 63 people.
The coalition is cautious about making too much of the current successes but the terrorists feel themselves to be on the defensive.
Their concerns are spelled out in a nine-page letter from al-Zarqawi to his comrades. It was found on a CD rom carried by an al-Qa'eda courier captured in January.
Al-Zarqawi is clearly alarmed by the growth of local Iraqi security forces, particularly in the Sunni areas west and north of Baghdad.
In Falluja, rebel leaflets admitted that the capture of local mujahideen fighters by Iraqi security forces had disrupted their plans.
Hundreds of Islamists chanting "Stop Sin Brother! No to indecency" protested in Bahrain yesterday against the Gulf state's version of the television reality show.
This can't be be right - the networks and CNN have mentioned nothing about this!
Kerry's response: "I faced shadowy forces myself in Vietnam. Did you know I served in Vietnam? I got a couple of Purple Hearts for razor burn and a Bronze Star for murdering a helpless & wounded enemy combatant - ran him down and stabbed him in the back I did. Got that last medal upgraded to a Silver. Its amazing what you can do when you get to write yourself up for your own medals. And did I mention that I served in Viet Nam?
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