The Surge is over, Iraq in a state of collapse

March 28, 2008

US Airstrike Kills at Least 4 in Baghdad

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:25 a.m. ET

BAGHDAD (AP) -- A U.S. helicopter fired a Hellfire missile during fighting

in a Shiite militia stronghold of Baghdad on Friday, while U.S. pilots

conducted their first airstrikes on the southern city of Basra to aid Iraqi

forces battling powerful Shiite militias.

The American air support marked a sharp escalation in the fight -- so far

led by Iraqi security forces -- to cripple armed factions that the Pentagon

accuses of links to Iran. It also suggested that the four-day-old ground

offensives by Iraqi troops and police are struggling against strong militia

resistance.

Washington has called the campaign an important test of Iraq's ability to

handle its own security affairs. But setbacks in the battles could

increasingly draw in American forces, worried that a sustained fight could

wipe away many of the security gains in recent months.

In Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood -- a center for the Mahdi Army militia

of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- the U.S. military said the

missile strike killed four militants, although Iraqi officials said the dead

were civilians.

American jets also dropped bombs overnight in Basra in the first use of U.S.

air power in the southern oil port since the Iraqi government launched a

crackdown against Shiite militias there earlier this week.

Defying a curfew in Baghdad, extremists lobbed more rockets or mortars

against the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which has come under steady barrages

this week. At least two rounds Friday struck the nearby offices of Sunni

Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, killing two guards and wounding four, his

daughter Lubna said.

Thick black smoke rose into the sky in the latest of a week of attacks that

have prompted the State Department to order all personnel at the embassy to

stay in reinforced structures.

Ground forces called for the airstrike in Sadr City after coming under

small-arms fire while clearing a main supply route before dawn, U.S.

military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said.

He said four gunmen were killed, but Iraqi police and hospital officials

said five civilians died and four others were wounded in the attack.

U.S. troops also fought militants on the ground in Sadr City and targeted

rocket and mortar teams elsewhere in the capital, another spokesman Maj.

Mark Cheadle said.

''We have conducted direct engagements from the ground and air in and around

Sadr City when attacked or positively identified terrorists,'' he said.

In Basra, the U.S. jets dropped bombs on a mortar team and a militia

stronghold, said Maj. Tom Holloway, a British military spokesman. He did not

have information about casualties.

The strikes came as tensions rose among followers of al-Sadr -- angry over a

crackdown that has threatened to unravel a militia cease-fire and spark a

new cycle of violence after months of relative calm in Iraq.

The situation in Basra remained tense ahead of a Saturday deadline for

gunmen to surrender their weapons and renounce violence. Masked militia

fighters moved around freely in a southwestern neighborhood and there was

little traffic, according to Associated Press Television News footage.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has insisted the fight is targeting criminal

gangs in Basra, not al-Sadr's movement, and he has promised ''no retreat.''

But the crackdown has intensified Sadrist anger over recent raids and

detentions by U.S. and Iraqi forces followers say have taken advantage of

their seven-month-old cease-fire.

Al-Sadr on Thursday called for a political solution to the burgeoning crisis

and an end to the ''shedding of Iraqi blood'' but stopped short of ordering

his Mahdi Army militia to halt attacks in a statement released by an aide.

Another al-Sadr representative called al-Maliki ''a hypocrite'' during a

Friday sermon calling for an end to military operations and the release of

Sadrist detainees.

''He imprisoned and displaced thousands of Iraqi people under the name of

democracy. He is killing the citizens in the south of Iraq,'' Sheik Jalil

al-Sarghi said, referring to al-Maliki as U.S. helicopters buzzed over the

office where the prayer service was held.

In political developments, the main Shiite bloc in parliament boycotted an

emergency session seeking ways to end the fighting. Deputy parliamentary

speaker Khalid al-Attiyah, also a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, said

the events in the south are a law and order issue, not legislative.

House speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, convened the session without a

quorum.

The campaign to rid Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast

of Baghdad, of lawless gangs and Shiite militias -- some believed tied to

nearby Iran -- is a major test for the Shiite leader and for the Iraqi

military.

The ability of Iraqi leaders and security forces to control situations like

this one is key to U.S. hopes of withdrawing its forces from the country.

The prime minister put his credibility on the line by flying down to Basra

on Monday and issuing a weekend deadline for the surrender of Mahdi Army

militiamen loyal to al-Sadr.

Helicopters on Friday dropped leaflets calling on residents to help the

government in its fight ''to rid Basra of outlaws.''

Al-Maliki's office also announced it has given residents in Basra until

April 8 to turn over ''heavy and medium-size weapons'' in return for

unspecified monetary compensation.

The deadline is separate from the three-day ultimatum announced Wednesday

for gunmen to surrender their arms and renounce violence or face harsher

measures, government adviser Sadiq al-Rikabi said.

The move instead appeared to be aimed at noncombatants who may have weapons

like machine-guns and grenade launchers either for smuggling purposes or to

sell to militants or criminal gangs.

The government also announced a days-old curfew in Basra would be loosened

to allow people to move around in the city from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to

facilitate shopping and other necessary tasks.

The Basra offensive has triggered a violent response among al-Sadr's

followers, with dozens killed in Baghdad and across the Shiite heartland of

southern Iraq.

At least 22 people -- six civilians, four Iraqi security forces and 12

militants -- were killed Friday in fierce fighting in the southern cities of

Mahmoudiya, Nasiriyah and Kut, according to reports from police and army

officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't

authorized to release the information.

The U.S. military did not immediately comment on the latest reports but said

26 militants died during operations Thursday in mostly Shiite areas in

Baghdad.

> "Sid9" <sid9@bellsouth.net> wrote in message

> news:mG8Hj.24958$dT.18669@bignews1.bellsouth.net...

>

> US Airstrike Kills at Least 4 in Baghdad

I see sid "the resident body counter" is still cumming in his shorts over

the casualty reports.

- KODIAK

On Mar 28, 12:03 pm, "Sid9" <s...@bellsouth.net> wrote:

> March 28, 2008

>

> US Airstrike Kills at Least 4 in Baghdad

>

> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

>

> Filed at 11:25 a.m. ET

>

> BAGHDAD (AP) -- A U.S. helicopter fired a Hellfire missile during fighting

> in a Shiite militia stronghold of Baghdad on Friday, while U.S. pilots

> conducted their first airstrikes on the southern city of Basra to aid Iraqi

> forces battling powerful Shiite militias.

>

> The American air support marked a sharp escalation in the fight -- so far

> led by Iraqi security forces -- to cripple armed factions that the Pentagon

> accuses of links to Iran. It also suggested that the four-day-old ground

> offensives by Iraqi troops and police are struggling against strong militia

> resistance.

>

> Washington has called the campaign an important test of Iraq's ability to

> handle its own security affairs. But setbacks in the battles could

> increasingly draw in American forces, worried that a sustained fight could

> wipe away many of the security gains in recent months.

>

> In Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood -- a center for the Mahdi Army militia

> of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr -- the U.S. military said the

> missile strike killed four militants, although Iraqi officials said the dead

> were civilians.

>

> American jets also dropped bombs overnight in Basra in the first use of U.S.

> air power in the southern oil port since the Iraqi government launched a

> crackdown against Shiite militias there earlier this week.

>

> Defying a curfew in Baghdad, extremists lobbed more rockets or mortars

> against the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which has come under steady barrages

> this week. At least two rounds Friday struck the nearby offices of Sunni

> Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, killing two guards and wounding four, his

> daughter Lubna said.

>

> Thick black smoke rose into the sky in the latest of a week of attacks that

> have prompted the State Department to order all personnel at the embassy to

> stay in reinforced structures.

>

> Ground forces called for the airstrike in Sadr City after coming under

> small-arms fire while clearing a main supply route before dawn, U.S.

> military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said.

>

> He said four gunmen were killed, but Iraqi police and hospital officials

> said five civilians died and four others were wounded in the attack.

>

> U.S. troops also fought militants on the ground in Sadr City and targeted

> rocket and mortar teams elsewhere in the capital, another spokesman Maj.

> Mark Cheadle said.

>

> ''We have conducted direct engagements from the ground and air in and around

> Sadr City when attacked or positively identified terrorists,'' he said.

>

> In Basra, the U.S. jets dropped bombs on a mortar team and a militia

> stronghold, said Maj. Tom Holloway, a British military spokesman. He did not

> have information about casualties.

>

> The strikes came as tensions rose among followers of al-Sadr -- angry over a

> crackdown that has threatened to unravel a militia cease-fire and spark a

> new cycle of violence after months of relative calm in Iraq.

>

> The situation in Basra remained tense ahead of a Saturday deadline for

> gunmen to surrender their weapons and renounce violence. Masked militia

> fighters moved around freely in a southwestern neighborhood and there was

> little traffic, according to Associated Press Television News footage.

>

> Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has insisted the fight is targeting criminal

> gangs in Basra, not al-Sadr's movement, and he has promised ''no retreat.''

>

> But the crackdown has intensified Sadrist anger over recent raids and

> detentions by U.S. and Iraqi forces followers say have taken advantage of

> their seven-month-old cease-fire.

>

> Al-Sadr on Thursday called for a political solution to the burgeoning crisis

> and an end to the ''shedding of Iraqi blood'' but stopped short of ordering

> his Mahdi Army militia to halt attacks in a statement released by an aide.

>

> Another al-Sadr representative called al-Maliki ''a hypocrite'' during a

> Friday sermon calling for an end to military operations and the release of

> Sadrist detainees.

>

> ''He imprisoned and displaced thousands of Iraqi people under the name of

> democracy. He is killing the citizens in the south of Iraq,'' Sheik Jalil

> al-Sarghi said, referring to al-Maliki as U.S. helicopters buzzed over the

> office where the prayer service was held.

>

> In political developments, the main Shiite bloc in parliament boycotted an

> emergency session seeking ways to end the fighting. Deputy parliamentary

> speaker Khalid al-Attiyah, also a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, said

> the events in the south are a law and order issue, not legislative.

>

> House speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, convened the session without a

> quorum.

>

> The campaign to rid Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast

> of Baghdad, of lawless gangs and Shiite militias -- some believed tied to

> nearby Iran -- is a major test for the Shiite leader and for the Iraqi

> military.

>

> The ability of Iraqi leaders and security forces to control situations like

> this one is key to U.S. hopes of withdrawing its forces from the country.

>

> The prime minister put his credibility on the line by flying down to Basra

> on Monday and issuing a weekend deadline for the surrender of Mahdi Army

> militiamen loyal to al-Sadr.

>

> Helicopters on Friday dropped leaflets calling on residents to help the

> government in its fight ''to rid Basra of outlaws.''

>

> Al-Maliki's office also announced it has given residents in Basra until

> April 8 to turn over ''heavy and medium-size weapons'' in return for

> unspecified monetary compensation.

>

> The deadline is separate from the three-day ultimatum announced Wednesday

> for gunmen to surrender their arms and renounce violence or face harsher

> measures, government adviser Sadiq al-Rikabi said.

>

> The move instead appeared to be aimed at noncombatants who may have weapons

> like machine-guns and grenade launchers either for smuggling purposes or to

> sell to militants or criminal gangs.

>

> The government also announced a days-old curfew in Basra would be loosened

> to allow people to move around in the city from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to

> facilitate shopping and other necessary tasks.

>

> The Basra offensive has triggered a violent response among al-Sadr's

> followers, with dozens killed in Baghdad and across the Shiite heartland of

> southern Iraq.

>

> At least 22 people -- six civilians, four Iraqi security forces and 12

> militants -- were killed Friday in fierce fighting in the southern cities of

> Mahmoudiya, Nasiriyah and Kut, according to reports from police and army

> officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't

> authorized to release the information.

>

> The U.S. military did not immediately comment on the latest reports but said

> 26 militants died during operations Thursday in mostly Shiite areas in

> Baghdad.

>The US is bombing Baghdad so that surge will continue to work!!

In article <GR8Hj.6266$6H.4036@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net>

"KODIAK