General Shia uprising in many Iraqi cities

[TC]

http://news.yahoo.com/iraq

Seven US troops killed (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/latimests/20040405/ts_latimes/7ustroopskilledasshiiteangererupts&cid=2026&ncid=1473)

Four additional US troops killed (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040405/wl_afp/iraq_us_toll&cid=1512&ncid=1473)

US attempts to retake Fallujah (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040405/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_fallujah&cid=540&ncid=1473)

Shia rebels take control of Basra (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040405/wl_afp/iraq_us_british_shiites&cid=1512&ncid=1473)

Iraqi Civil Defense Force turns on Americans (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/iraq_us_shiites_baghdad)

Shia rebels take Kufa, police defect to the rebellion (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/iraq_unrest_shiites_kufa)

[bunk]

tuesday
- 4 U.S soldiers killed in Al Abnar
- U.S begin offensive on insurgents in Fallujah

US considers Iraq reinforcements

The US is examining the possibility of sending more troops to Iraq if the situation there gets out of control, a top Central Command official has said.
The official confirmed that commanders had been asked to present such options, but said the US military did not believe it was needed.

The comments came on the second day of anti-coalition protests by supporters of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

The US-led coalition said it had issued an arrest warrant for Mr Sadr.


A coalition spokesman said earlier that the warrant was in connection with the murder of a rival cleric a year ago.

We don't believe we'll need additional forces (in Iraq). We're doing this as a matter of planning

US Central Command official

Mr Sadr has denied any involvement in the killing of Abdel-Majid al-Khoei in Najaf in April 2003.

He has barricaded himself with armed supporters in a mosque in Kufa, south of Baghdad.

On Monday, US helicopter gunships targeted militia members loyal to Mr Sadr in the mainly Shia district of al-Shuala in Baghdad.


The BBC's Justin Webb says President George W Bush is coming under increasing pressure over his Iraq policy.

Prominent Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy has called the war Mr Bush's Vietnam.

His remarks were dismissed by Republicans, but the most recent opinion poll seems to suggest that on the subject of Iraq, public opinion is shifting rapidly away from the White House.


Planning 'worse-case scenarios'

"The events of the weekend show an obvious potential for more demonstrations and more violence," a Central Command official told reporters at the Pentagon on condition of anonymity.

If that means breaking the law of the American tyranny... I'm proud of that and that is why I'm in revolt

Moqtada Sadr

"We asked our staff to look at what forces might be available in quick-response mode."

But the official said the request had been made "as a matter of planning", and the US military had "adequate forces" in Iraq.

There are currently about 134,000 US troops in Iraq, the official said. They are part of the 155,000-strong coalition force.

"We always plan worse-case scenarios. And clearly if this thing got out of control over there we would have to start looking at the number of forces that we have," the official said.

And referring to the Shia protests across Iraq, he said "we can't even begin to call that a Shia uprising".

'Outlaw' protests

The protests were triggered by the closure of Mr Sadr's al-Hawza newspaper a week ago on the grounds that it was inciting violence.



They intensified after the arrest on Saturday of one of Mr Sadr's top aides, Mustafa Yacoubi, in connection with Mr Khoei's murder.

The coalition accuses Mr Sadr of trying to usurp its power and says the revolt will not be tolerated.

Many of Iraq's majority Shia Muslims, repressed under Saddam Hussein, welcomed last year's US-led invasion, and attacks on coalition forces were largely confined to the minority Sunni community before Sunday's violence.

However, Mr Sadr has become an increasingly outspoken opponent of the occupation.

The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, said on Monday that Mr Sadr's followers had effectively placed themselves outside the law.

But Mr Sadr responded by saying he was "proud" to be considered an outlaw by the US.

At least 13 coalition soldiers and 46 Iraqis have died in confrontations related to the protests.

The latest US casualties were four Marines killed in action in the western Anbar province, the military said on Tuesday.

There has been continuing tension in Sadr City, a district which saw eight US troops and a reported 22 Iraqis killed in fighting on Sunday.

US troops also began an offensive in Falluja, a Sunni town where four Americans
were killed and mutilated last week.

BBC

[bunk]

BBC is showing pictures of insurgents in Fallujah carrying RPG's, Kalashnikov's and MG's.

Heavy fighting in sealed Falluja


Falluja is completely sealed off
Fierce clashes are reported between US forces and Iraqi insurgents after a major US operation began against the flashpoint town of Falluja.
Troops have sealed off the town - but witnesses speak of shelling and blasts and the use of helicopter gunships.

Four US troops died in Anbar province on Monday, but the military did not say whether they were killed in Falluja.

There has also been further violence in Shia areas, with 15 deaths reported in clashes in the town of Nasiriya.


About a dozen Italian troops were also reported to have been injured there, in fighting with Shia militants.

The US has vowed to "pacify" Falluja, east of Baghdad, where four American security guards were killed and dragged through the streets last week.

FALLUJA FLASHPOINT

28 April 2003: US paratroopers shoot dead 13 demonstrators
May 2003: Grenade and gun attacks on US troops become a routine occurrence
November 2003-January 2004: Three helicopters are shot down in the area with the total loss of 25 lives
31 March 2004: Four US contractors killed and mutilated


Images from Iraq haunt US
Falluja anger on the rise
The town lies in the heartland of resistance to the US-led occupation.

On Tuesday residents quoted by Reuters news agency spoke of heavy clashes just north of Falluja, with explosions and gunfire echoing across the town.

An American military spokesman says helicopter gunships have been used.

About 1,200 US troops as well as Iraqi security forces began the offensive in Falluja on Monday.

Troops enforced a night-time curfew and sealed roads around the troubled town.

The main road through the region which links Baghdad and Jordan has been closed.

Four members of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed on Monday while "conducting security and stabilisation operations", the US military said in a statement.

It did not give any details but said the deaths came "as a result of enemy action" in western Anbar province.

Second front

Three other US soldiers have been killed in the Baghdad area in the past 24 hours, the US military said.

The offensive in the predominantly Sunni area around Falluja comes as the US-led coalition faces the prospect of a second front against Shia militants, says the BBC's Richard Lister in Baghdad.

More than 50 people have been killed in two days of protests by supporters of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.


Clashes were also reported in the southern town of Amara, where UK troops are responsible for security.

Fighting there has left 12 Iraqis dead over the past 48 hours.


The violence was triggered by the closure of Mr Sadr's al-Hawza newspaper a week ago on the grounds that it was inciting violence.

They intensified after the arrest on Saturday of one of Mr Sadr's top aides, Mustafa Yacoubi, in connection with the murder of rival cleric Abdel-Majid al-Khoei in Najaf in April 2003.

The US-led coalition said it had issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr Sadr, also in connection with the killing.

The 30-year-old cleric denies involvement.

He has barricaded himself with armed supporters in a mosque in the holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad. The US has said it is considering sending additional troops to Iraq.

BBC

[bunk]

Clashes between Italian troops and Shia militants in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriya have left 15 Iraqis dead, a coalition spokeswoman said.


Twelve Italian soldiers were wounded during the fighting with supporters of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, according to Italian military officials.

The violence broke out when Italian troops attempted to restore order in the city after two days of unrest.

The Iraqi dead included a woman and two children, officials said.

About 500 Italian troops came under fire as they launched a pre-dawn operation to dislodge fighters controlling key bridges in Nasiriya.

The Italians returned fire and, after a gunbattle, regained control of the bridges, said a statement issued in Rome by the Italian defence ministry.

A coalition spokeswoman in Nasiriya, Paola della Casa, said 15 Iraqis had been killed.

An Italian army officer in the city, Major Simone Schiavone, told Reuters news agency: "We launched a large-scale operation to restore public order to the town after two days of civil unrest.

"The city was divided in two, with the bridges under their control. We had to go in and sort out the situation before it deteriorated."

In other clashes, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and five others wounded in fighting with Iraqi insurgents in the city of Kut.

The Ukrainian defence ministry in Kiev said all six were in an armoured personnel carrier that came under attack

BBC

[bunk]

Iraq's Mehdi Army (MA) militia probably has no more than a few thousand actual members but its potential for organising unrest is clear from the street battles which erupted in Shia parts of the country.


It was created in the summer of 2003, prompted by radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr, who preached the need for a new force in his sermons.

Young men were recruited at offices near mosques to defend the Shia Muslim faith and their country in defiance of the US-led coalition's arms controls.

One year on from the invasion, Mr Sadr's movement continues to take on new members, now feeding on dissatisfaction with the coalition among Shia who initially welcomed the ousting of Saddam Hussein and the end to curbs on their faith.

Its appeal is mainly to "those young and desperate Shia in Iraq's urban slums who have not seen any benefit to their lives from liberation", Dr Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at the University of Warwick, told BBC News Online.

Taking its name from Mehdi - the "promised one" in Islam - the militia is fiercely loyal to its religious founder.

"I'm not sure what the aim of the army is or when we will fight, but I will follow Sadr's orders," was how one original volunteer, 29-year-old Kathem Rissan, explained his position to the Financial Times in Baghdad last July.

Access to guns

The MA's potential as an armed force was only really felt when violence erupted with coalition forces this week, although many of the gunmen in action on the streets of Baghdad or Najaf may not necessarily have been militia members but ordinary Iraqis defending their neighbourhoods.



The ferocious street battles suggest the MA has access to rocket-propelled grenades as well as heavy machine-guns and the ubiquitous Kalashnikov assault rifle.

As Dr Dodge explains, weapons are widely available in a country where most men would have military training.

After three wars in close succession, Iraq was a highly militarised state at the time of the coalition invasion and arms dumps were left open for months after the old regime fell.

The MA was the first Shia militia to organise on the ground and now benefits from a degree of military discipline, making it the natural choice for leading unrest in Shia areas.

It is believed to have no more 10,000 members and Dr Dodge suggests the number is much less.

Coalition headache

Tension between the MA and the coalition slowly escalated before the clashes this April.

When it was being formed, some volunteers made no secret that they saw their eventual task as fighting the US-led coalition.

"God willing, this army will get rid of the Americans, the Israelis and the infidels," one volunteer, 27-year-old Mohammad Abbas, told The Times newspaper soon after enlisting last summer.

Mr Sadr is believed to have the support of up to 15% of Iraq's Shia community, or just under 2.5 million people, but it is far from clear how many of these would actually be prepared to fight against the coalition.

However, asked about the military threat the MA poses, Dr Dodge notes that the coalition is overstretched and has very poor intelligence.

"Any group is one more threat it doesn't need," he says

BBC

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40010000/jpg/_40010145_mehdi-afp-203x300.jpg

[FistFullOfSteel]

Its a full-scale war now,this is going berserk.

[bunk]

President George W Bush has declared that US resolve in Iraq remains "unshakable", despite ongoing clashes with insurgents across the country.
His comments came after one of the worst single attacks since the war left 12 US marines dead and about 20 others injured in Ramadi, west of Baghdad.

The attack came on a day of battles with Shia and Sunni Muslim gunmen west and south of the capital, Baghdad.

More than 100 Iraqis have also been killed in three days of clashes.


Timeline: US losses in Iraq

During the same period, at least 20 coalition troops have died.

The Shia-led violence has opened a second front for US-led coalition troops who had previously been confronting mainly Sunni supporters of the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein.

The action by the Shias was triggered by the closure of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr's al-Hawza newspaper a week ago on the grounds that it was inciting violence.

War tone

"The president mourns the loss of each of our fallen," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters.

"Our resolve is firm... and we will prevail," the spokesman said after Mr Bush had been briefed about the attack at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

He said the president would hear more about the fighting during a video link conference with his national security council later on Wednesday.



The White House is now back on a war footing, the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington reports, and Secretary of State Colin Powell has urged the nation to rally behind its troops.

In an unusual foray into domestic politics, Mr Powell criticised Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy for describing Iraq as George Bush's Vietnam.

Mr Powell said Senator Kennedy should be a little more restrained and careful in comments because America was at war.

Iraq clashes

Dozens of Iraqis attacked the marines near the Ramadi governor's palace and "a significant number" of them were killed, a Pentagon official said.

In nearby Falluja, over 20 people were reported killed in a US air strike.

The offensive in Falluja has been going on since Monday in an effort to subdue the city after four Americans were killed and their bodies mutilated there last week.




Mehdi Army
Profile: Radical cleric
In quotes: Moqtada Sadr

US troops - using tanks and helicopter gunships - have been involved in the street-to-street fighting with insurgents armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades.

Ramadi and Falluja together with Tikrit are within the so-called "Sunni triangle" - a hotbed of anti-coalition activity.

But the clashes which are proving of greatest concern to the coalition have been with Shia militias loyal to Moqtada Sadr in a string of towns south of Baghdad, says the BBC's Richard Lister in Baghdad.

They had not previously been active, but have now taken on British, Spanish and Italian troops, as well as the Americans, and there have been scores of casualties, mostly Iraqis.

In Baghdad on Wednesday, tanks were still standing guard outside police stations in the poor neighbourhood of Sadr City.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Mr Sadr on charges unrelated to the current violence.

The cleric remains surrounded by armed supporters in the holy city of Najaf.

His militia, known as the Mehdi Army, has staged violent demonstrations and attacked US-led forces in several Iraqi cities and has vowed that the unrest will continue.

In a separate incident, Italian troops killed 15 Iraqis in clashes with Shia militants in the southern city of Nasiriya.

Dilemmas

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said there were no plans to send additional troops to Iraq, after earlier reports that the Pentagon was considering such an option.

He told a news conference there were about 135,000 US troops in Iraq.

This was an increase over previous levels of about 115,000 because a massive changeover of forces was taking place, but the number was set to go down again, he said.

The BBC's Nick Childs at the Pentagon says the timing and nature of the latest violence may make it the most serious potential threat to the US-led coalition in Iraq for nearly a year.

BBC

[bunk]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40013000/jpg/_40013999_mehdi203bodyap.jpg

US vows to wipe out cleric's army
The US military in Iraq has vowed to "destroy" the militia which backs a radical Shia cleric responsible for much of the latest wave of violence.
US-led forces are conducting operations against Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army, said US military spokesman Mark Kimmitt.

More than 100 Iraqis have died in three days of clashes in areas to the west and south of the capital, Baghdad.

About 20 coalition troops have also been killed, including 12 US marines in a single attack in the town of Ramadi.

BBC

[MiniOswald]

I aint no anarchist but it seems the only way the US are ever gonna get out is if this just erupts in to total chaos i.e everyone killing everyone else

[cubist]

i hate to say it but "WE THE PEOPLE" knew the outcome of americas antics wouldn't be sweet.

we warned that attacking iraq will only encourage anti westernism in the middle east.

i was reading an article that the war on terror must stop saying "POLICE ARRESTED A MUSLIM" fo rthe sake of the innocent decent people in the muslim communities who are becoming increasingly more oppressed by british whites,


the independent is full of middle east information at the mo,

[SittingBull47]

Originally posted by [email protected] 6 2004, 06:32 PM
Its a full-scale war now,this is going berserk.
That's what I'm thinkin too. Makes you wonder what the fuck we were doing when the war was still going on. Mission Accomplished my ass :angry:

[El Tipo]

See my sig. :)

[bunk]

US air strike hits Falluja mosque
A US air strike has killed dozens of people inside a mosque during heavy fighting in the Iraqi town of Falluja, witnesses say.
Some reports speak of more than 40 dead in the mainly Sunni Muslim town, but that figure has not yet been confirmed.

The incident came as coalition troops fought separate uprisings by both Sunni and Shia Muslims in several towns.

The US military has vowed to "destroy" the militia of radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the coalition's local HQ in the southern town of Kut, which is now reportedly under the control of Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army.


More than 100 Iraqis have died in three days of clashes in areas to the west and south of the capital, Baghdad.
At least 30 coalition troops have also been killed, including 12 US marines in a single attack in the town of Ramadi on Tuesday.

BBC

[FistFullOfSteel]

Originally posted by SittingBull47+Apr 7 2004, 02:09 PM--> (SittingBull47 @ Apr 7 2004, 02:09 PM)
[email protected] 6 2004, 06:32 PM
Its a full-scale war now,this is going berserk.
That's what I'm thinkin too. Makes you wonder what the fuck we were doing when the war was still going on. Mission Accomplished my ass :angry: [/b]
Yeah agree

1.They have Hussein
2.They havent found any massdestruction weapons
3.What are they doing?

Usa started this war, so they can blame themselves.

[cubist]

usa started the war usa installed saddam, my sympathies are with the dead soldiers brainwashed and used as fodder, and the poor iraqi civillians,

[bunk]

US troops face longer Iraq stay
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says some "seasoned" US troops in Iraq might be kept there longer than planned to deal with the growing violence.
The troops have not lost control of the security situation, despite a recent upsurge in fighting, Mr Rumsfeld said.

The clashes were the work of a few "thugs, gangs and terrorists", he said.

In the latest reported violence, US troops were involved in clashes with both Sunni and Shia insurgents in the north and west of the capital Baghdad.

Operations were also continuing in the Sunni city of Falluja west of the capital - a day after the US military bombed a compound housing a mosque.
Iraqi witnesses say about 40 Iraqis were killed in the strike, but US Central Command said only one "anti-coalition force member" had died and there were no civilian casualties.

It is not known if there were any deaths among the five casualties reported by the US military.

Several days of clashes have claimed the lives of well over 100 Iraqis and at least 30 coalition soldiers in what is being seen as the worst escalation of fighting since Baghdad fell to US-led forces a year ago.

The involvement of Shia fighters loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr has opened a second front in the Iraqi opposition to the occupation.

Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has condemned the way US forces are dealing with Shia resistance.

Mr Sistani appealed for a wise and peaceful approach from all sides.


In other developments:

A convoy of Iraqis is reported to be heading for Falluja to take humanitarian aid to the besieged city.

For the first time on Wednesday, Japanese troops in the southern town of Samawa were apparently targeted by a number of explosions. There are no reports of injuries.

Italian troops in the southern city of Nasiriya withdraw to allow Iraqi police to take control.
'Small' numbers

Speaking in Washington, Mr Rumsfeld said US troops faced a "serious problem", but "the problem's being worked".

"The number of people that are involved in those battles are relatively small," Mr Rumsfeld said.

But there was "nothing like an army or... large elements of hundreds of people trying to overthrow or to change the situation," the defence secretary said.
The city of Najaf was the only part of Iraq not under the control of US and coalition forces, he said.

"We will likely be managing the pace of the redeployments to allow those seasoned troops with experience and relationships with the local populations to see the current situation through," he added.

BBC Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs said the defence secretary's language and the hurried news conference may be a sign of how worried the Bush administration is about what is unfolding in Iraq.

The US military has vowed to "destroy" the Shia Muslim Mehdi Army, set up last June by Moqtada Sadr.

Mr Sadr has been named in an arrest warrant, accused of inciting the murder of a rival cleric and two colleagues last April.

He has issued a statement from Najaf calling for power in Iraq to be handed over to "honest men" and not to collaborators of the US-led occupation.

The city of Najaf was the only part of Iraq not under the control of US and coalition forces, he said.

"We will likely be managing the pace of the redeployments to allow those seasoned troops with experience and relationships with the local populations to see the current situation through," he added.

BBC Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs said the defence secretary's language and the hurried news conference may be a sign of how worried the Bush administration is about what is unfolding in Iraq.

The US military has vowed to "destroy" the Shia Muslim Mehdi Army, set up last June by Moqtada Sadr.

Mr Sadr has been named in an arrest warrant, accused of inciting the murder of a rival cleric and two colleagues last April.

He has issued a statement from Najaf calling for power in Iraq to be handed over to "honest men" and not to collaborators of the US-led occupation.

The city of Najaf was the only part of Iraq not under the control of US and coalition forces, he said.

"We will likely be managing the pace of the redeployments to allow those seasoned troops with experience and relationships with the local populations to see the current situation through," he added.

BBC Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs said the defence secretary's language and the hurried news conference may be a sign of how worried the Bush administration is about what is unfolding in Iraq.

The US military has vowed to "destroy" the Shia Muslim Mehdi Army, set up last June by Moqtada Sadr.

Mr Sadr has been named in an arrest warrant, accused of inciting the murder of a rival cleric and two colleagues last April.

He has issued a statement from Najaf calling for power in Iraq to be handed over to "honest men" and not to collaborators of the US-led occupation.

The city of Najaf was the only part of Iraq not under the control of US and coalition forces, he said.

"We will likely be managing the pace of the redeployments to allow those seasoned troops with experience and relationships with the local populations to see the current situation through," he added.

BBC Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs said the defence secretary's language and the hurried news conference may be a sign of how worried the Bush administration is about what is unfolding in Iraq.

The US military has vowed to "destroy" the Shia Muslim Mehdi Army, set up last June by Moqtada Sadr.

Mr Sadr has been named in an arrest warrant, accused of inciting the murder of a rival cleric and two colleagues last April.

He has issued a statement from Najaf calling for power in Iraq to be handed over to "honest men" and not to collaborators of the US-led occupation.

BBC

[bunk]

US troops battle Iraqi militants
US-led coalition soldiers across Iraq are reported to be engaged in fresh clashes with Sunni and Shia militants.
A US military convoy was attacked west of Baghdad on Thursday - hours after US troops fought street battles with both groups in parts of the Iraqi capital.

Bodies were said to be in the streets of Falluja, where about 300 people have been killed, hospital officials say.

The top US military commander said operations would continue across Iraq until the insurgents were defeated.

General Ricardo Sanchez said the militia loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr - which started the current violence over the weekend - would be pursued in a "robust" manner until he was no longer a threat to the country.

The clashes this week are being seen as the heaviest since Baghdad fell to US-led forces a year ago.

At least 30 coalition soldiers have been killed.

BBC

[bunk]

Japanese 'held hostage' in Iraq
Arabic television station al-Jazeera has shown footage of three Japanese civilians it said were taken hostage by a previously unknown Iraqi group.
The group, called the Mujahideen Brigades, said it would kill the hostages unless Tokyo withdrew its troops from Iraq within three days.

Eight South Korean church ministers are also reported to have been seized by an unnamed Iraqi group.

And a British civilian went missing in the town of Nasiriya on Tuesday.

In its first reaction, Japan said it had no plans to withdraw the troops.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Tokyo said the hostage-taking will be a "wrenching experience" for Japan.

It will put extreme pressure on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who took the decision to send the troops, despite the extreme misgivings of many Japanese citizens, our correspondent says.

Mr Koizumi has argued that the mission is necessary to bolster Japan's role in the international community.



Statement

A statement by the Mujahideen Brigades said Japan had betrayed Iraqis by backing the US occupation of Iraq.

"We tell you that three of your children have fallen prisoner in our hands and we give you two options - withdraw your forces from our country and go home or we will burn them alive and feed them to the fighters," it said.

"You have three days from the date of this tape's airing."

The TV said the hostages included a journalist and an aid worker.

South Korea's foreign ministry said one of the South Koreans had managed to escape.

It is not clear if the two incidents are linked.


Japanese concerns

Japan has sent 550 ground troops to Iraq on "a non-combat mission" to help rebuild the country.

Earlier on Thursday, Tokyo vowed to make no hasty decisions about its troops in the southern city of Samawa after explosions near their camp.

Concerns regarding the security of Japan's troops are high because critics argue Japan's constitution could be violated if the troops are drawn into combat.

Japan's constitution prohibits the use of force in international disputes, but the Japanese government argues the country is entitled to exercise self-defence and the troops will be able to return fire if they are attacked.

BBC

[Severian]

Originally posted by [email protected] 8 2004, 03:16 AM
Italian troops in the southern city of Nasiriya withdraw to allow Iraqi police to take control.
.....
The city of Najaf was the only part of Iraq not under the control of US and coalition forces, [Rumsfeld] said.
Clearly a false statement by Rumsfeld. In addition to Nasiriya, (the bit about Iraqi police seems like face-saving), Ukrainian troops have also pulled out of the city of Kut. Even in Baghdad, control of some neighborhoods is uncertain.

Then there's Kufa, much of Falluja, etc etc

[Rasta Sapian]

Can anyone say "Vietnam" is this happening all over again?

God bless those americans for once again liberating another nation!

[abigratsass]

this had to come!!! i mean by that the situatiuon rising to a full state of war from two sides..!!
i mean as an oppressed arab myself i understand that iraqis were glad in the beging to find themselves freed from america puupet as i really see him saddam hussien .....but the break i think is over!! and its about time
the thing is that i found definatly comming and the american goverment has yet proven itself to be IDIOTIC not to see was the sunis and shiates uniting forces against the coaltion forces '' if u want to call american and british a coaltion since i see they really represent the same thing'' SINCE THE AMERICAN MISSELES DONT DIFFRENTIATE BETWEEN THEM ...AND IT KILLS THEM AND DESTROYS THIER HOUSES ALL THE SAME!! AND THEY DO COME FROM THE SAME COUNTRY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TO THEM THERE ALL MUSLIMS .
why again wouldnt they join efferts in the struggle!?
come on bush , think about things its not really going to be a picinic ,is it?

p.s buush i dare you to hit anthore mosque and be ready to have the whole muslim and arab population on the move!! oh and by that i dont mean our shitty leaders that you put there
salam

[Red Guard]

More Iraqi Resistance! :)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...raq_convoy_dc_2 (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040409/ts_nm/iraq_convoy_dc_2)

At Least Nine Dead in Attack on U.S. Convoy in Iraq
Fri Apr 9, 5:49 AM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Insurgents attacked a U.S. convoy carrying fuel west of Baghdad Friday, killing at least nine people, witnesses said.

A Reuters photographer on the scene said he saw bodies burning inside the vehicles, which were still on fire near Abu Ghraib. He said the convoy included U.S. military vehicles and fuel tankers.


Huge clouds of black smoke hung over the area, visible from several kilometers away. There was heavy fighting between U.S. troops and guerrillas in Abu Ghraib Thursday.


Truckloads of people from the area have also tried to head further west to help other insurgents battling U.S. forces in Falluja and Ramadi.

[Red Guard]

Iraq Shiite radical tells Bush to withdraw troops or face revolution
17 minutes ago Add Politics - AFP to My Yahoo!



KUFA, Iraq (AFP) - Outlawed Shiite Muslim radical leader Moqtada Sadr branded US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) an "enemy" and told him to withdraw his troops from Iraq (news - web sites) or face a revolution.


The cleric, whose supporters have held firm against the US-led coalition across central and southern Iraq, also began a hunger strike as aides said the coalition's civil administrator Paul Bremer had ruled out peace talks.


"I address my enemy Bush. You are now fighting an entire nation, from south to north, from east to west, and we advise you to withdraw from Iraq," he said Friday in a message read by one of his aides at the main mosque in this central town.


"I call on America not to confront the Iraqi revolution," said the message read by Sheikh Jaber al-Khafagi to worshippers gathered for the main weekly prayers in this shrine town, a Sadr stronghold.


Sadr also announced that he and his followers "have laid the foundation stone of the state of the Mehdi" a reference to Al-Mehdi Al-Montazer, or the "hidden imam", the 12th and last revered leader of the Shiite Muslims who disappeared in 907 AD.


A central belief of Shiites, who make up the majority in Iraq, is that Mehdi is the sole legitimate ruler and no political action should be taken in his absence.


Sadr had been expected to deliver the weekly sermon himself as usual but Khafagi said he was "unable to be with us today".


Another Sadr aide, Hassan Haidari, later told AFP that the rebel leader "did not come to the prayer in Kufa because he is observing a sit-in and has begun a hunger strike in protest at the American massacres" in Iraq.


Earlier this week, Sadr, who has been outlawed by the US-led coalition after being charged with two counts of murder by an Iraqi investigating magistrate, barricaded himself inside the Kufa mosque.


But he ended his sit-in on Tuesday and left for the nearby pilgrimage city of Najaf where he is holed up at an undisclosed location.


Haidar also revealed that mediation bids to solve the crisis between Sadr and the coalition had been rejected by the country's US overseer.


"We are ready for discussions but Bremer is opposed to it," he said.


In his message to worshippers, Sadr warned Bush that unless he removed his troops from Iraq, "you will lose the (November presidential) elections you are now struggling for".


He also warned that Iraqis who failed to heed his call to fight the US-led occupation would "burn in hell".


"All faithful Iraqi men and women who have heard my call (to join) the struggle and do not heed it, will burn in hell ... and will be an outlaw," his message said.


The message was also full of praise for his Mehdi Army militia, saying it had "proven its ability, heroism and organisation day after day".


Earlier this week the Mehdi Army fought fierce battles with Italian coalition troops in the southern city of Nasiriyah when they took control of three key bridges in the Shiite city.

The militiamen agreed early Wednesday to pull out and hand over their positions to police.

The militiamen also seized control of the central Iraqi Shiite city of Kut after pushing Ukrainian troops from its center, but were driven out again by US troops who recaptured the town early Friday.

"After my death, the fate of the Mehdi Army will be decided by Imam Mehdi," Sadr said in his message.

He also accused members of the coalition-installed interim Governing Council of being "traitors".

As Khafagi read the statement, the hundreds of worshippers in the mosque's courtyard interrupted him with deafening cries of "Long live Sadr" and "America and the (Governing) Council are atheists".

A banner on the mosque wall read: "No, No to the Great Satan America".

Militia members armed with shoulder-held rocket launchers and rocket-propelled grenades manned checkpoints amid tight security in Kufa.

[Red Guard]

http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=iraq

Iraq in Turmoil on Anniversary of Saddam's Fall
1 hour, 15 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Alistair Lyon

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bloody turmoil reigned in Iraq (news - web sites) on Friday, the first anniversary of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s fall, with Sunni and Shi'ite rebels battling U.S.-led forces and holding three Japanese and other foreign hostages.

Fierce fighting that has convulsed the Sunni cities of Falluja and Ramadi reached the western outskirts of Baghdad, where insurgents killed nine in an attack on a U.S. fuel convoy, and said they had seized four Italians and two Americans.


A Reuters journalist saw two captive foreigners in a mosque in a village in the Abu Ghraib district. One was wounded in the shoulder. Both men were weeping.


At the scene of the convoy attack, a dead foreigner lay on the road with a bloody head as an Iraqi beat him.


Teenage fighters with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles lurked on bridges or in derelict lots near the main highway leading west toward the embattled town of Falluja.


Iraq's U.S administrator Paul Bremer said U.S. forces had unilaterally suspended operations in Falluja at midday after a crackdown on guerrillas to allow aid in and what would be unprecedented talks with insurgents.


This week's bloodshed, engulfing the hitherto quiescent Shi'ite south as well as the bastions of Sunni insurgency in central Iraq, has shown how far the United States is from securing the country whose dictator it toppled on April 9, 2003.


Iraqis traumatized by 35 years of Baathist rule then hoped Saddam's removal would bring them freedom and a better life.


Today they face an uncertain future after 12 months of violence that is sapping a reconstruction drive, hampering oil exports to pay for it and frightening off foreign investors.


Since Sunday, at least 41 U.S. and allied soldiers and hundreds of Iraqis have been killed in fighting. Baghdad streets were quiet on Friday as many residents feared more violence.


"America is the big devil and Britain and Blair are the lesser devils," a preacher at Baghdad's Um al-Qura mosque told an angry congregation. Reflecting a growing hostility to outsiders, one worshipper said: "When we get the order for jihad (holy war), no foreigner will be safe in Iraq."


PRESSURE COOKER


Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the situation was the most serious yet faced by U.S.-led occupation forces.


"The lid of the pressure cooker has come off," he told BBC radio. "There is no doubt that the current situation is very serious and it is the most serious that we have faced."


U.S.-led troops retook the eastern town of Kut two days after Ukrainian soldiers withdrew after clashes with Shi'ite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who launched an uprising across southern Iraq this week.


Bremer announced the Falluja cease-fire after five days of street fighting in which up to 300 Iraqis have been reported killed and U.S. Marines have also taken casualties.


The Marines launched "Operation Iron Resolve" after last week's killing and mutilation of four U.S. security guards. The ferocity of the crackdown has angered Iraqi politicians working with Bremer's administration.


"We are seeing the liquidation of a whole city," Governing Council member Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar told Al Jazeera television, saying he might resign in protest over the treatment of Falluja.

Bremer did not say how long the cease-fire would last, though an Iraqi politician said it would go on for 24 hours.

Clashes erupted after Friday prayers in the mixed Sunni- Shi'ite town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, as insurgents fought U.S. troops and attacked buildings, witnesses said.

Shooting also broke out after a demonstration in the northern city of Mosul, witnesses said, after overnight clashes in the shrine city of Kerbala between Shi'ite fighters and Polish and Bulgarian troops killed 15 Iraqis.

Shi'ite militiamen still control the center of the shrine city of Najaf, where Sadr is thought to be holed up. The violence erupted as Shi'ite pilgrims thronged Kerbala for Arbain, a religious occasion that climaxes this weekend.

Sunnis and Shi'ites prayed together in the southern city of Basra, in one of many shows of solidarity seen across Iraq.

A major international oil conference due to take place in the city later this month was canceled due to security fears.

NO JUBILATION THIS YEAR

In Baghdad, new razor wire barriers blocked streets around Firdaws Square where U.S. Marines and Iraqis dragged down Saddam's statue a year ago. Loudspeaker messages warned the public to stay away. The measures appeared designed to foil possible anniversary protests against the U.S.-led occupation.

Posters of Sadr fluttered on a green sculpture symbolizing a new Iraq erected on the plinth where Saddam's statue once stood. A U.S. soldier later climbed a ladder to pull down the Sadr pictures in an eerie echo of last year's iconic images.

A mortar round landed in the vicinity of the nearby Sheraton hotel in the late afternoon, causing a thunderous blast and sending up a plume of smoke. No casualties were reported.

For some U.S. allies, the surge in fighting and kidnapping will fuel debate on the wisdom of keeping their troops in Iraq.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, already under fire at home for sending troops to Iraq said he had no plans to withdraw them despite the kidnapping of the Japanese civilians.

A previously unknown Iraqi group released a video of the hostages on Thursday and vowed to "burn them alive" if Japanese troops did not leave Iraq within three days.

In other kidnappings, rebels have seized two Palestinians with Israeli identity cards. A Briton has gone missing and a Najaf-based Canadian aid worker has also been abducted.

The U.S. military reported six more combat deaths in Iraq on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing to 449 the number of U.S. troops killed in action since the start of the war.

Bremer named two Governing Council members to key posts. Samir Sumaidy, a Sunni independent, becomes interior minister, replacing Shi'ite Nouri Badran. Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, a Shi'ite independent, takes on the new role of national security adviser.

(Reporting by Luke Baker, Michael Georgy, Khaled Oweis, Andrew Marshall and Fiona O'Brien)

[pandora]

I agree, the bombing of the mosque in particular without any remorse was a terrorist act if this is indeed "nation building" a failed term for controlling another country's resources. Reality says this is a full scale war.

Three cities have been taken back by Muslim forces very Vietnam. In many ways there has been an encouragement of this by U.S. forces to create another Iran that could be controlled by a corrupt religious body. Tolitarian regime works well for the State dept. which since it's 1948 memo, has disregarded such terms such as "human rights" as irregardless in the quest for more and more resources.

Unfortunately for these guys, it seems the firecracker that they hoped to throw off on the other political party blew up in their face. Except for in the most backwater areas of the U.S. "Support the Troops" has turned to "Get Them The Hell Out of There Fast" also known as "Not My Boy."

Greatly saddened and horrified by the torture of condition of the three Japanese captives. One can only think of how it must be to be them in such a horrible condition, and wish them peace and that they escape unharmed. The Japanese government is more willing to be reasonable than the U.S. the only hope for their survival. I pray they are not used to instill fear in U.S. troops ala "Three Kings" [excellent movie]

Interested to hear how others are ingesting this, I hope the U.S. leaves and hope the bloodshed stops. The U.S. has been a bully not only to the people of Iraq but to its own troops, overworked and sleep deprived they live with itchy trigger fingers, prone to abuse.

[FistFullOfSteel]

I read in a newspaper that U.S not gonna negoiate with the "terrorists"

I think Japan will not care for those hostages.