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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
Posts: 5596
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 Sun May 23, 2004 1:03 pm U.S. Kills Dozens of Radical Cleric's Militiamen |
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U.S. Kills Dozens of Radical Cleric's Militiamen
Sunday, May 23, 2004
KARBALA, Iraq � U.S. forces launched their first incursion into the center of the holy city of Kufa (search), raiding a mosque for weapons and killing at least 32 fighters loyal to a radical Shiite cleric in clashes early Sunday.
American tanks and troops moved into the stronghold of Muqtada al-Sadr (search), a fiercely anti-U.S. cleric who launched an uprising against the coalition in early April. Al-Sadr has taken refuge in the nearby city of Najaf and routinely delivers a sermon at Friday prayers in Kufa.
U.S. forces fought militiamen near Kufa's Sahla mosque (search), then raided it for weapons after an Iraqi counterterrorism force had "cleared" the site, the military said. Soldiers seized a machine gun, two mortar tubes and over 200 mortar rounds as well as rocket-propelled grenade launchers and rounds, according to a statement.
American troops smashed the gate to the mosque complex with an armored vehicle and killed people inside, mosque employee Radhi Mohammed said. An Associated Press photographer saw bloodstains on the ground that indicated someone had been dragged for at least 10 yards. There also was blood in the mosques bathrooms.
The military stressed that Iraqi security forces entered the mosque before any Americans.
"There were American forces in that local mosque last night," said Maj. David Gercken, spokesman for the 1st Armored Division. "They went in after the Iraqi forces."
He said Iraqi forces "cleared" the mosque, and that U.S. forces conducted weapons searches.
Sheik Mansoor al-Asadi (search), head of the central council of tribes in the Najaf area, said he was "astonished" over the Kufa raid, saying it undermined efforts by local leaders to resolve the standoff between al-Sadr and the coalition peacefully.
But Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division, said U.S. forces had taken care not to damage Shiite Muslim shrines even though militiamen were using them as fighting positions.
"We have no intention of entering the shrines," Dempsey said, adding that Iraqi security forces would enter them if necessary. The radical cleric's supporters have accused the military of desecrating holy places.
American troops also fought al-Sadr's militia, known as the al-Mahdi Army (search), around Kufa's technical college and a building known as Saddam's Palace, the military said. It said 32 militiamen died.
Medical personnel at the city's Furat al-Awsat hospital said at least 10 people were killed and 11 injured, however, and it was unclear if those numbers included the fighters or referred to civilians. No U.S. casualties were reported.
Resident Mohammed Abdul-Kareem said the dead included three civilians whose houses were damaged in the fighting, which lasted from 10 p.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Sunday.
Fourteen people also were injured in clashes between U.S. forces and al-Sadr's loyalists in Najaf on Sunday, according to Hussein Hadi, an employee at al-Hakim hospital. He said 10 people were killed and 28 injured in the city on Saturday.
In Karbala, no al-Sadr fighters or American forces were seen on the streets on Sunday, but the U.S. military denied claims by al-Sadr's office that all combatants had agreed to withdraw from the city.
"There was no cease fire, no deal made in Karbala," Gercken said. "We do not and will not make deals with militias or criminals."
U.S. forces captured 10 militia overnight in Karbala, but encountered little or no resistance during patrols, Gercken said.
"We have kept pressure on them, kept engaging them and been successful with those operations," Gercken said.
Iraqi leaders in Karbala had been trying to negotiate an end to the fighting, though coalition officials have demanded that al-Sadr disband his militia and "face justice." The cleric is wanted in the murder of a rival moderate cleric last year.
"There is no presence of armed militias in the city," said Adham Mahmoud, a hotel worker in Karbala said. "People have started leaving their homes and going into the streets. Some have started rebuilding their damaged houses."
No insurgents were seen around Karbala's Imam Hussein shrine, one of Shia Islam's holiest sites, but it was guarded by a special security force in civilian clothing that was appointed by top Shiite clerics.
"Iraqi security forces are already patrolling the city," the U.S. military said in a statement.
The U.S. military command on Sunday denied a Washington Post report that the top U.S. general in Iraq Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez (search) was present during some interrogations at the Abu Ghraib prison and witnessed some of the abuse of Iraqi inmates.
"This report is false," the U.S. military said in a statement.
Sanchez stands by his testimony before Congressional committees that he was unaware of the abuses until he ordered an investigation into the allegations in January, according to the statement.
Gunmen killed a police captain and a university student in Baqouba, north of Baghdad, on Sunday, a hospital official said. Capt. Haidar Hadi was giving the student a lift to Baghdad when the gunmen opened fire. A police sergeant in the car was injured, said Nassir Jawad of Baqouba General Hospital.
Also Sunday, a policeman was killed and two others were seriously injured when a bomb exploded as they patrolled between Basra and Zubeir in southern Iraq, police said.
Insurgents routinely target police and other Iraqis who are working with the U.S.-led coalition governing Iraq.
In Basra, a mortar shell landed on a house in al-Iskan district, killing one woman and injuring five men, said Khalid Abdelallah, an official at Mawanei Hospital. It was unclear who fired the mortar round.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Sun May 23, 2004 1:20 pm |
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Finally, some good action is taking place--we have to stop that cleric!!
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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