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| 7/9 |
| 2004/4/14-15 [Reference/Military, Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:13205 Activity:high |
4/14 A hospital official in Fallujah claims many of the 600 victims who've
died in the weeklong U.S. Marine crackdown in Fallujah were women,
children and the elderly. But Marine Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne said an
investigation of the dead will likely discover "95 percent of those
were military age males." -April 11
http://www.nbc5i.com/news/2993428/detail.html
Just before dawn Wednesday, however, AC-130 Spectre gunships launched
a devastating punitive raid over a six-block area around where the
convoy was attacked, firing dozens of artillery shells that shook the
city and lit up the sky. Marine officials said the area was virtually
destroyed and that no further insurgent activity had been seen there.
-April 14
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12526-2004Apr14.html
\_ Why are women and the elderly exempt? Kids, too, if they are
gonna shoot (e.g. during the Iran-Iraq conflicts).
\_ Basically Al Jazeera shows injured/dead babies on TV because
they think the U.S. can offer no defense. The idea is similar
with women, children, and old people.
Just before dawn Wednesday, however, AC-130 Spectre gunships launched
a devastating punitive raid over a six-block area around where the
convoy was attacked, firing dozens of artillery shells that shook the
city and lit up the sky. Marine officials said the area was virtually
destroyed and that no further insurgent activity had been seen there.
-April 14
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12526-2004Apr14.html |
| 7/9 |
|
| www.nbc5i.com/news/2993428/detail.html The military said a rebel sniper shot two Marines, triggering a firefight that lasted several minutes and left at least one insurgent dead. Troops shot and killed the sniper and also shot at four rebels who were spotted nearby running with rocket-propelled-grenade launchers. The violence came as negotiators held a third round of meetings aimed at ending the fighting. Earlier, Sunni militants told Arab TV stations they have agreed to a United States-offered truce and vowed it would hold until nightfall in the city. Crew Of Shot-Down Helicopter Confirmed Dead The crew of a United States helicopter downed in west Baghdad is dead, a top general in Iraq said Sunday. Mark Kimmitt said he is sad to report the two pilots were killed in action. Kimmitt expressed sympathy for the families of the lost pilots at a Baghdad news conference. American troops blocked traffic on the main highway out of the western edge of the Iraqi capital. Black smoke rose from the area and at least four helicopters hovered overhead. Masked gunmen have been roaming the roads in west Baghdad for the past three days, attacking military fuel convoys and blowing up tanker trucks. Bremer Says Iraq Not Out Of Control Meanwhile, the top United States political leader in Iraq said the country is not out of control. Paul Bremer said several thousand people who are anti-democratic are trying to sabotage United States efforts. He said the United States is seeking a military and political solution to the fighting that has spread through the country in the past week. The vast majority of Iraqis want democracy and the United States will ensure they get it, Bremer said. Ricardo Sanchez said last weeks refusal by a new unit in the Iraqi army to fight fellow Iraqis shows significant challenges in the new military. Bush said Sunday that more American casualties may come in Iraq, but, were plenty tough. Bush attended an Easter Sunday service at Fort Hood, Texas, a base that has lost at least nine service members in the past week of fighting. After the service, Bush told reporters the United States campaign in Iraq is right and will continue. Almost 50 American soldiers and more than 550 Iraqis are dead in the violence that spread across the country last week. The president said its hard to tell if such fighting will continue. Bush met with 11 soldiers at a military hospital, awarding Purple Heart medals to 10 of them. British Hostage Freed A British man kidnapped by militiamen in Iraq has been freed. Officials said the rescue came with help from Italian special forces. Meanwhile, the Arab TV network Al-Jazeera is reporting Iraqi kidnappers have promised to release eight foreign hostages. Al-Jazeeras report shows pictures of the eight looking tired and haggard in a concrete room. The hostages include two Turks, three Pakistanis, a Nepalese, a Filipino and an Indian. In a tape aired on the network, a kidnapper reads a statement saying the captive men worked as truck drivers for the United States-led occupation. The kidnapper says the men will go free because an Iraqi group of clerics asked for civilian prisoners to be released. He says the hostages have also vowed not to cooperate again with the occupation forces. And no word yet on the fates of three Japanese hostages - whose kidnappers had promised to release them by Sunday - or about an American who was kidnapped Friday. The family of the American - a Mississippi contractor - is asking for prayers. A deadline set by his captors passed and there was no word on the fate of Thomas Hamill. His captors had demanded United States forces withdraw from around Fallujah. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. NBC 5 WeatherBug Real-time weather conditions direct to your computer! |
| www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12526-2004Apr14.html It ended as a fiery and chaotic rescue mission, with a small force of Marine tanks, Humvees and ground troops surrounded and attacked as they fought their way through a hostile neighborhood to save the crew of a burning armored personnel carrier. By the end of the tumultuous encounter, the charred personnel carrier had been towed to safety by a tank and most of its 17 crew members - several of them wounded - had been rescued from a house where they had taken shelter. But the incident also revealed some startling facts about the insurgency that the Marines are facing here, officers said. More dramatically than any armed confrontation since United States forces surrounded Fallujah nine days ago, it showed the tenacity, coordination, firepower and surprisingly large numbers of anti-American guerrillas who still dominate much of the city. They were definitely a lot more organized than we thought, said Capt. Jason Smith, 30, commander of the company whose armored supply vehicle made a wrong turn into insurgent territory and was immediately inundated by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from all sides. Marine officials here said offensive operations in Fallujah would remain suspended, extending a pause that was ordered Friday to allow civilians to leave the city and let political leaders in Fallujah and Baghdad attempt to negotiate a solution to the conflict. Just before dawn Wednesday, however, AC-130 Spectre gunships launched a devastating punitive raid over a six-block area around the spot where the convoy was attacked, firing dozens of artillery shells that shook the city and lit up the sky. Marine officials said the area was virtually destroyed and that no further insurgent activity had been seen there. According to accounts by Smith and two other officers, a supply convoy of Humvees was heading toward a command post at the edge of a Marine-controlled industrial zone around 4:30 pm Tuesday when it came under small-arms fire. The convoy backtracked, and its cargo was shifted to two Marine amphibious assault vehicles, which resumed the mission. Those carriers were hit by rocket-propelled grenades, known as RPGs. One turned back toward friendly territory, but the other caught fire and the driver lost his way in the unfamiliar neighborhood. Suddenly, the crew encountered a large number of armed men milling in the streets. They started taking RPG fire and tried to get out of the area, but we lost communication with them, Smith said. Their engine was on fire and they were heading away from our zone. Officers dispatched a quick-reaction squad whose members had already been in battle earlier Tuesday. While guarding the site of a helicopter crash in a marshy area southeast of the city that morning, the outfit was ambushed by insurgents. The rescue squad rushed four tanks and six Humvees to the area, where they fought their way through several blocks to reach the burning carrier. Surrounded by 25 Marine riflemen on foot, the armored vehicles advanced, firing machine guns from their turrets. Marine officials here said at least 20 insurgents were shot dead during the fighting. Within the first 500 meters, we were shooting 360 degrees, said Lt. When we finally saw the armored personnel carrier, it was a piece of burning metal. The carriers crew had managed to escape and had taken shelter in the nearest house, where they were pummeled with gunfire from the surrounding houses. Under covering fire from United States tanks and planes, Glovers team was able to get the crew into Humvees and race off to safety. |