Fight in Iraq(today)a Helicopter shot down in Fallujah

[seruriermarshal]

Insurgents Kill 21 People in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents launched a series of apparently coordinated attacks Thursday across Sunni Muslim-dominated areas of Iraq (news - web sites), killing at least 21 people, including two U.S. soldiers, police and hospital officials said. Three explosions rocked Iraq's main northern city Mosul.


AP Photo


*******
Slideshow: U.S. Military




Attacks were unleashed at dawn on the police stations in Ramadi and Baqouba in addition to Mosul, where explosions rocked police stations in at least three parts of the city. One of them could have been caused by a suicide bomber, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.


Two American soldiers were killed and seven wounded in the Baqouba fighting, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division said. Witnesses said fierce fighting was raging in parts of Baqouba and that insurgents had seized a police station there. U.S. aircraft dropped three 500-pound bombs against an insurgent position near the city soccer stadium, U.S. officials said.


The level of coordination in the attacks appeared unusual and could signal the beginning of a push by insurgents to torpedo next week's transfer of sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupation authority to an interim Iraqi government.

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From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040624/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_attacks&cid=540&ncid=1480)


R.I.P to U.S. soldiers

REGIMENTAL PRAYER

Almighty, merciful, and loving Father,
you are the one who hears all our prayers and grants our petitions.

We ask you to remember, as we do,
the tremendous sacrifice made by those who went before us.
They have given their lives so that we might live and breathe freely.
We ask you to receive them into your hands.

Father, give us the strength and wisdom to learn from their example,
to uphold freedom and life at home and around the world.

Keep us vigilant as we guard the frontiers of freedom.

Give our leaders the wisdom and the strength to lead well.

Grant all of us courage and confidence.
Be, for all of us, troopers, a wise counsel in keeping peace
and a strong shield for us against our enemies.
Oh heavenly Father, give us the determination
that the peace and freedom won at such a high price be lasting!

Father, hold all of the troopers in the palm of your almighty hand
and protect them in the shadow of your wings.

Amen.


Need more messages .

[seruriermarshal]

Rebels Launch Attacks in Four Iraq Cities, 23 Dead
Thu Jun 24, 2004 04:33 AM ET


By Alistair Lyon
BAGHDAD (*******) - Rebels launched coordinated assaults on Iraqi police that turned several mainly Sunni Muslim cities into battle zones Thursday and at least 23 people were killed, including three U.S. soldiers.

The simultaneous violence in Baquba, Falluja, Ramadi and Mosul intensified a bloody campaign by Iraqi insurgents and foreign militants to sabotage the formal handover from U.S.-led occupation to an interim government in six days' time.

In Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, at least four car bombs exploded near police buildings, sending thick smoke into the air and setting cars ablaze. Police said there had been heavy casualties, but had no details.

Three more blasts shook the city later, and local television ordered residents to stay at home. Police blocked off all major roads, and announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

The U.S. military said an American soldier had been killed and three wounded in the blasts. It said a security guard was killed when gunmen attacked a private security company, but did not give the guard's nationality.

Gunfire rattled across Mosul as insurgents fought running battles with U.S. troops and Iraqi police.

Black-clad gunmen, some claiming loyalty to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, attacked a police station in Baquba, 60 km (40 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Nine policemen and four civilians were killed and 22 people were wounded, hospital officials said.

Witnesses said scores of gunmen took control of the town's main intersection after the dawn assault on the police station, attacking any Iraqi police or U.S. troops they encountered.

A U.S. military spokesman said two American soldiers had been killed. U.S. forces had responded with air strikes after gunmen captured the civic center and attacked another government building. Two insurgents were killed.

ZARQAWI'S FINGERPRINTS

Many of the fighters wore yellow headbands bearing the name of a Muslim militant group "Saraya al-Tawhid and Jihad" (Battalions of Unification and Holy War). They handed out leaflets warning Iraqis not to "collaborate" with Americans.

"The flesh of collaborators is tastier than that of Americans," the leaflets said.

Arabic television channel Al Jazeera showed hooded fighters brandishing their weapons in Baquba and saying they were followers of Zarqawi. Bodies lay in the streets nearby.

Zarqawi's Jama'at al-Tawhid and Jihad group has claimed responsibility for many attacks in Iraq, including this week's beheading of a South Korean hostage.

Insurgents fired mortars at two police stations and the house of a security official in Ramadi, 110 km (68 miles) west of Baghdad, killing at least three people, witnesses said. A fourth person was killed in clashes with U.S. troops.

Earlier this week, gunmen killed four U.S. Marines who had been posted on a rooftop in Ramadi.

Fierce fighting broke out between U.S. Marines and rebels in Falluja. U.S. warplanes and helicopter gunships swooped low over the city as gunfire and rocket-propelled grenade explosions echoed through the streets, witnesses said.

The clashes raged for two hours and U.S. planes dropped 500-pound bombs on guerrilla positions, a ******* photographer with the Marines near Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, said. There was no word on casualties.

A U.S. Cobra helicopter was shot down during the Falluja fighting but the crew walked away unhurt, Marines said.

Under a truce agreed last month, U.S. forces pulled out of the city and handed control to an Iraqi brigade led by army officers who had served under former President Saddam Hussein.

U.S. SAYS MOST CITIES "UNDER CONTROL"

Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the U.S. army in Iraq, confirmed there had been clashes in a number of Iraqi cities.

"With the exception of what we are seeing in Baquba, most seem to be under control right now," he told reporters.

A senior U.S. officer said the attacks were likely to have been the work of Saddam loyalists, rather than Zarqawi followers. He said 30 to 40 fighters had staged the Baquba attacks, with lower numbers in action elsewhere.

U.S. forces had used laser-guided weapons against three houses in Baquba to silence small-arms fire.

[seruriermarshal]

US launches air strikes on Baquba amid heavy fighting

BAGHDAD (AFP) Jun 24, 2004
The US military launched air strikes on the northeastern Iraqi city of Baquba where heavy fighting erupted early Thursday, its top spokesman said.
The military hit three houses near a sports complex with laser-guided missiles, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told reporters in Baghdad.

Seventeen Iraqis and a US soldier were killed as suspected supporters of Al-Qaeda terror suspect Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi battled coalition forces and police in Baquba, military and hospital sources said.

"There was one incident we did bring in a precision air strike and we will probably have more (information) later this afternoon when we have a better idea of what's going on," Kimmitt said.

He said between 30 and 40 fighters were involved in a firefight with coalition forces near a roundabout in Baquba at about 5:30 ambefore attacking a police station and possibly "one other government building".

A spokesman for the US military based in Baquba said four 500-pound (220-kilogram) bombs had targeted a group of houses.

"At about 9:30 am (0530 GMT) we were able to idenfity a group of buildings occupied by anti-Iraqi forces. The coalition dropped four 500-pound bombs basically destroying all the buildings," said Captain Marshall Jackson.

"Also this morning the house of the chief of police of Diyala province was attacked by anti-Iraqi forces and set on fire," he said, adding that the chief was not at home at the time.

The Blue Dome, headquarters of the US-backed local authorities in Baquba, also came under attack with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, said Jackson.

He added that one coalition soldier had been killed and seven injured, with three insurgents confirmed dead. Two explosions went off outside the military base as a military convoy left at about 11:30 am (0730 GMT).

Kimmitt said the northern city of Mosul and in Ramadi, western Iraq, had also been hit by rebel attacks on Thursday, in what appeared to be a coordinated onslaught.

"With the exception of what we are seeing in Baquba, things seem to be well under control right now," he said.

Kimmitt reported explosions at the Iraqi National Guard compound in Mosul and that insurgents attacked an agricultural centre and possibly a small Iraqi police station in Ramadi.

Zarqawi's group, Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Holy War), assaulted a US patrol and a police station in Baquba before dawn, according to the 1st Infantry Division and an AFP correspondent.

Meanwhile, in the Fallujah area, west of Baghdad, a US Cobra helicopter was shot down, a marine officer said, as an AFP correspondent said helicopters fired on the Sunni Muslim bastion.

Residents were fleeing toward the highway out of the city.

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From (http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040624085549.4gjt1qzn.html)

[seruriermarshal]

Man dressed in police uniform blows himself up killing four Iraqi guards

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A man dressed in a police uniform blew himself up outside an Iraqi National Guard post, killing four guards and wounding three others southwest of Baghdad, an official from the force told AFP.



"A man dressed as a policeman approached a control post holding a suitcase and blew himself up, killing four of our men and hurting three others," said the official from Iraq (news - web sites)'s paramilitary, who was at the site and who declined to be identified.


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From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040624/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_unrest_us_baghdad&cid=1514&ncid=1480)


Mosul Blasts Kill at Least 40, Iraq Police Say
MOSUL, Iraq (*******) - A series of car bomb attacks on police stations in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Thursday killed at least 40 people and wounded 60, Iraqi police said.



They said more bodies were still being brought in to hospitals. At least seven large explosions were reported in Mosul Thursday morning.


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From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040624/ts_nm/iraq_mosul_dead_dc&e=1)

[Argyll]

Insurgents in their last grasps before handing power back to the Iraqi's

[seruriermarshal]

Insurgents in their last grasps before handing power back to the Iraqi's

I hope you are safe , my friend , They have more AK-47 and RPG .

:|

[Skullknight]

A motorist who drove through Fallujah Thursday morning said Iraqi police and insurgents were cooperating, chatting amicably along the streets, and seemed to be working together.

...

A statement quoted Thursday by a Saudi Web site claimed responsibility for the Baqouba attacks in the name of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who said the insurgents belong to his Tawhid and Jihad movement. He called residents to "comply with the instructions of resistance."

The statement appealed to residents to remain their homes "because these days are going to witness campaigns and attacks against the occupation troops and those who stand beside them."

- Associated Press

[seruriermarshal]

Two US soldiers killed in Baquba ambush

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Two US soldiers were killed and seven wounded in an ambush by insurgents in the central Iraqi city of Baquba, the US military said.


"A 1st Infantry Division patrol was attacked by anti-Iraqi forces killing two soldiers and wounding seven others in Baquba," it said in a statement, following an earlier announcement that only one soldier had died.


Baquba lies some 60 kilometres (36 miles) northeast of the capital.


Insurgents launched simultaneous attacks on the headquarters of the US-backed local administration and a police station, with all three incidents taking place at around 5:30 am (0130 GMT), the statement said.


The US military later dropped four 500-pound (220 kg) bombs on three houses near a football stadium, completing destroying them, it added.


"At approximately 9:00 am 1st Infantry Division soldiers isolated anti-Iraqi forces occupying three buildings from which attacks were being directed against coalition forces and Iraqi security forces," it said.


Half an hour later, "coalition aircraft dropped four 500-pound bombs destroying all three buildings containing the anti-Iraq (news - web sites) forces' strong points," according to the statement.


Hospital sources said that 17 Iraqis died in the Baquba fighting, including 11 policemen, and that 26 people were wounded.

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From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040624/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_us_unrest_baquba&cid=1514&ncid=1480)

Insurgents Kill Dozens of People in Iraq

6 minutes ago

By DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents launched coordinated attacks Thursday against police and government buildings across Sunni Muslim areas of Iraq (news - web sites), killing dozens of Iraqis and three U.S. soldiers, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.


The huge number of attacks could signal the beginning of a push by insurgents to torpedo next week's transfer of sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupation authority to an interim Iraqi government.


Heavy fighting was reported in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. Attackers also targeted police stations in Ramadi and in the northern city of Mosul, where car bombs explosions rocked the Iraqi Police Academy, a police station and a hospital simultaneously. A fourth attack on another police station occurred about an hour later.


Khalid Mohammed, an official at the al-Jumhuri hospital, said dozens have been brought to the hospital, which itself was subjected to attack. At least 50 died and 170 were wounded, he said.


A statement quoted Thursday by a Saudi Web site claimed responsibility for the Baqouba attacks in the name of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who said the insurgents belong to his Tawhid and Jihad movement. He called residents to "comply with the instructions of resistance."


The statement appealed to residents to remain their homes "because these days are going to witness campaigns and attacks against the occupation troops and those who stand beside them."


U.S. aircraft dropped three 500-pound bombs against an insurgent position near the city soccer stadium in Baqouba, said Maj. Neal E. O'Brien, a U.S. 1st Infantry Division spokesman. Insurgents roamed the city with rocket launchers and automatic weapons.


U.S. officials projected calm.


"Coalition forces feel confident with the situation," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, coalition deputy operations chief.


Explosions and shelling shook Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad. Armed men ran through the streets, witnesses said. Residents said U.S. forces were shelling from positions outside the city, and helicopters were in the skies, but the U.S. military could not immediately be reached for comment.


U.S. forces manning a checkpoint opened fire on local government convoy that included Fallujah's mayor and police chief that was trying to meet the Americans to discuss the violence, an Iraqi police lieutenant, speaking on condition of anonymity. The convoy turned back, and no injuries were reported.


A motorist who drove through Fallujah Thursday morning said Iraqi police and insurgents were cooperating, chatting amicably along the streets, and seemed to be working together.


U.S. forces launched two airstrikes on Fallujah in recent days against what they said were safehouses al-Zarqawi, whose group claimed responsibility for the beheading for the beheading of American hostage Nicholas Berg and Kim Sun-il, a South Korean whose decapitated body was found Tuesday between Baghdad and Fallujah.


On Tuesday, an audiotape posted on an Islamic Web site attributed to al-Zarqawi threatened to assassinate Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi.


U.S. Marines besieged Fallujah for three weeks in April after four American civilian contractors working for the Blackwater USA security company were ambushed and killed, their bodies mutilated and hung from a Euphrates river bridge.


The city has been relatively calm since Marines announced a deal to end the siege that created the Fallujah Brigade, commanded by officers from Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s army.


Though the Fallujah Brigade patrols the city, hard-line clerics and fighters who held off the Marines are still control the town.





In other attacks on security forces, insurgents wearing black and using masks fired rocket-propelled grenades to attack two police stations in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi 60 miles (100 kilometers) west of Baghdad, police said.

"We were inside the al-Qataneh police station and suddenly a very heavy explosion happened," said 1st Lt. Ahmed Sami. "We discovered later on that the station was attacked from all around."

He said the station was destroyed in the initial blast. Seven people were killed and 13 were wounded, hospital officials said.

Another group attacked the Farook police station in Ramadi, also with rocket propelled grenades, Sami said. In a third assault, insurgents attacked a Ramadi government building, destroying several police cars.

In other attacks on security forces, insurgents raided a police station in Yusufiyah, 12 miles southwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, forcing the outgunned police to flee. The militants then blew up the building — the second such attack in recent weeks, said Mohammed Khadum, a police officer.

__

Associated Press correspondent Hamza Hendawi contributed to this report from Baqouba.


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From (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040624/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=1480)

[Skullknight]

I think Iraqi dead could mount to over a thousand over the next two weeks. They'll probably hit hard during the week of July 1st because some might think "it's over." Al-Zarqawi says he will attack until direct elections.

[seruriermarshal]

I think Iraqi dead could mount to over a thousand over the next two weeks. They'll probably hit hard during the week of July 1st because some might think "it's over." Al-Zarqawi says he will attack until direct elections.

Allies have a big mistake : Fallujah .

:(

[seruriermarshal]

Marines Respond to Insurgent Attacks

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq -- 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Marines, in conjunction with the Fallujah Brigade, have responded to attacks from insurgents in and around the city of Fallujah today.

Actions taken at this time are strictly defensive in nature.

One Marine helicopter made an emergency landing outside of the city. The aircraft crew was recovered and is in good condition. The helicopter is recoverable.


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From (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/media-information/june2004/040624a.htm)