H
Harry Hope
Guest
From The Associated Press, 3/27/08:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5652371.html
...................................................................................................
Suspected Shiite extremists also hammered the U.S.-protected Green
Zone for the fourth day this week, firing several rounds of apparent
rockets that sent a huge plume of smoke above the heavily fortified
area in central Baghdad.
The U.S. military said 16 rockets slammed into the Green Zone on
Wednesday, wounding a U.S. soldier, two American civilians and an
Iraqi soldier.
An American financial analyst also was killed in this week's first
spate of Green Zone attacks on Sunday.
The violence continued a day after al-Maliki warned gunmen in Basra to
surrender their weapons by Friday or face harsher measures, as clashes
between security forces and Shiite militia fighters spread throughout
the south and in Baghdad.
Despite the ultimatum, heavy gunfire and explosions resounded across
Basra while helicopters and jet fighters buzzed overhead.
The city's police chief escaped an assassination attempt late Thursday
but three of his guards were killed in the roadside bombing.
Government troops have faced stiff resistance in neighborhoods
controlled by the Mahdi Army in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340
miles southeast of Baghdad.
Residents spoke of militiamen using mortar shells, sniper fire,
roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades to fight off security
forces.
A Pentagon official said Wednesday that reports from the Basra area
indicate that militiamen had overrun a number of police stations and
that it was unclear how well the Iraqi security forces were performing
overall.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Street battles that started Tuesday in Basra and Sadr City spread to
several other neighborhoods and southern cities, leaving nearly 200
dead, including civilians, Iraqi security forces and militants.
That three-day figure was a rough estimate provided by police and
hospital officials who could not give a more specific breakdown.
The death toll in the Shiite city of Hillah, about 60 miles south of
Baghdad, rose to at least 60, according to a senior police official
who asked not to be identified because of security concerns.
He said that was the number of bodies counted after fierce clashes
that began on Wednesday and continued Thursday morning.
The U.S. military said four suspected Shiite extremists were killed in
an airstrike but it had no further details.
Two American soldiers were also killed Wednesday in separate attacks
in Baghdad, the military said.
_________________________________________________
How 'bout that "successful" McCain/Bush "surge", eh?
Harry
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5652371.html
...................................................................................................
Suspected Shiite extremists also hammered the U.S.-protected Green
Zone for the fourth day this week, firing several rounds of apparent
rockets that sent a huge plume of smoke above the heavily fortified
area in central Baghdad.
The U.S. military said 16 rockets slammed into the Green Zone on
Wednesday, wounding a U.S. soldier, two American civilians and an
Iraqi soldier.
An American financial analyst also was killed in this week's first
spate of Green Zone attacks on Sunday.
The violence continued a day after al-Maliki warned gunmen in Basra to
surrender their weapons by Friday or face harsher measures, as clashes
between security forces and Shiite militia fighters spread throughout
the south and in Baghdad.
Despite the ultimatum, heavy gunfire and explosions resounded across
Basra while helicopters and jet fighters buzzed overhead.
The city's police chief escaped an assassination attempt late Thursday
but three of his guards were killed in the roadside bombing.
Government troops have faced stiff resistance in neighborhoods
controlled by the Mahdi Army in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, 340
miles southeast of Baghdad.
Residents spoke of militiamen using mortar shells, sniper fire,
roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades to fight off security
forces.
A Pentagon official said Wednesday that reports from the Basra area
indicate that militiamen had overrun a number of police stations and
that it was unclear how well the Iraqi security forces were performing
overall.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Street battles that started Tuesday in Basra and Sadr City spread to
several other neighborhoods and southern cities, leaving nearly 200
dead, including civilians, Iraqi security forces and militants.
That three-day figure was a rough estimate provided by police and
hospital officials who could not give a more specific breakdown.
The death toll in the Shiite city of Hillah, about 60 miles south of
Baghdad, rose to at least 60, according to a senior police official
who asked not to be identified because of security concerns.
He said that was the number of bodies counted after fierce clashes
that began on Wednesday and continued Thursday morning.
The U.S. military said four suspected Shiite extremists were killed in
an airstrike but it had no further details.
Two American soldiers were also killed Wednesday in separate attacks
in Baghdad, the military said.
_________________________________________________
How 'bout that "successful" McCain/Bush "surge", eh?
Harry
