Seraphim
11-14-2003, 05:47 PM
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20031114/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_432
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A 1st Armored Division soldier was killed Friday and two others were wounded in a roadside bombing in central Baghdad, the military said.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops stepped up their campaign against Iraqi insurgents, killing seven people preparing to rocket an American base near Tikrit and dropping satellite-guided bombs on a target near the Syrian border, the military said Friday.
A leading Shiite cleric warned the Americans that attempting a military solution to Iraq (news - web sites)'s crisis "will only make things worse." Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Taqi al-Modaresi also criticized the U.S.-led coalition for failing to usher in democracy seven months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime.
Iraq's growing lawlessness continued to claim victims. Two 4th Infantry Division soldiers were killed Thursday and three others were wounded when their convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb near Samara, the military said.
An American civilian contractor was killed and another wounded when gunmen attacked a convoy Thursday near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, the military said. The victims were not identified.
In the south on Friday, gunmen fired on jeeps carrying Portuguese journalists, wounding one reporter and kidnapping another, Portuguese media reported. It was the first abduction of a journalist since the occupation began in May.
Distant explosions could be heard after sundown in central Baghdad, and the 1st Armored Division said they were part of "pre-emptive mortar fire" against insurgent positions.
A division spokesman said aircraft were launched to carry out some of the strikes. He would not specify the targets but said the operation was ongoing late Friday.
The seven Iraqi insurgents died Thursday night when a U.S. Apache helicopter fired on suspected Saddam supporters preparing to rocket an American military base 20 miles north of Tikrit, the 4th Infantry Division said. U.S. soldiers later found hundreds of rockets and missiles there.
Along the Syrian border, U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets dropped two satellite-guided bombs Thursday night on a three-story building in Husayba used by insurgents to store ammunition and launch attacks, the 82nd Airborne Division said. American officials have long accused Syria and Iran of allowing fighters to enter Iraq and attack the coalition.
Elsewhere, three 82nd Airborne paratroopers were wounded Thursday night in a rocket attack near Fallujah, the division said. And three soldiers were wounded Friday when a bomb they were trying to defuse exploded in northwestern Baghdad, witnesses said.
U.S. troops blocked the road for about an hour and called over loudspeakers for Iraqis to help them capture the bombers. Troops also handed out leaflets offering a $10,000 reward to anybody with information about insurgents.
In the north, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division captured 14 "suspected terrorists," including eight who belonged to a cell whose leader plotted to kill a top coalition official, the military said.
Faced with a mounting security crisis, the U.S. military announced a tough policy this week of going after the insurgents with massive firepower before they have a chance to strike.
However, Ayatollah al-Modaresi warned "the military solution will make the crisis worse," presumably by alienating Iraqis. The ayatollah, in a statement released by his office, called for more democracy in Iraq and criticized the Americans and their allies for failing to live up to their promises to build a democratic Iraq.
"Seven months have passed and there hasn't been one serious election," said al-Modaresi. "Coalition forces have chosen the Governing Council, distributed ministries the same wrong way and did not hold elections for the provincial councils. They chose them randomly and for this reason many Iraqi are suspicious about the intentions of these forces."
Ayatollahs and other senior Muslim clerics wield considerable influence among Iraq's Shiite community, which forms about 60 percent of the country's population of 25 million. Shiite support is crucial to the success of Bush administration plans to speed the handover of power to the Iraqis.
Washington's policy shift is widely seen as a response to the steadily deteriorating security situation in Iraq, and the uprising that has claimed the lives of over 50 coalition soldiers this month.
Chief U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer returned Thursday from talks with President Bush (news - web sites) and senior national security advisers and will present proposed policy changes to Iraq's Governing Council, possibly as early as Saturday.
On Friday, one council member said the group will study the proposals but may not agree with the details. "For our part, we have our own ideas," said Mahmoud Othman. "We will listen to Bremer and he will listen to us."
Winning speedy agreement on a new political course may take time because of conflicting interests among Iraq's diverse groups.
Shiite leaders will likely oppose any changes that dilute their newly won political power. Sunni Muslims, Iraq's most powerful group under Saddam, worry the Shiites want to establish an Iranian-style Islamic state and resent the growing influence of Shiites. Kurds are also anxious to preserve self-rule in Kurdish areas of the north.
___
Associated Press writers Jim Gomez in Tikrit and Mariam Fam in Mosul contributed to this report.
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A 1st Armored Division soldier was killed Friday and two others were wounded in a roadside bombing in central Baghdad, the military said.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops stepped up their campaign against Iraqi insurgents, killing seven people preparing to rocket an American base near Tikrit and dropping satellite-guided bombs on a target near the Syrian border, the military said Friday.
A leading Shiite cleric warned the Americans that attempting a military solution to Iraq (news - web sites)'s crisis "will only make things worse." Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Taqi al-Modaresi also criticized the U.S.-led coalition for failing to usher in democracy seven months after the collapse of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime.
Iraq's growing lawlessness continued to claim victims. Two 4th Infantry Division soldiers were killed Thursday and three others were wounded when their convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb near Samara, the military said.
An American civilian contractor was killed and another wounded when gunmen attacked a convoy Thursday near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, the military said. The victims were not identified.
In the south on Friday, gunmen fired on jeeps carrying Portuguese journalists, wounding one reporter and kidnapping another, Portuguese media reported. It was the first abduction of a journalist since the occupation began in May.
Distant explosions could be heard after sundown in central Baghdad, and the 1st Armored Division said they were part of "pre-emptive mortar fire" against insurgent positions.
A division spokesman said aircraft were launched to carry out some of the strikes. He would not specify the targets but said the operation was ongoing late Friday.
The seven Iraqi insurgents died Thursday night when a U.S. Apache helicopter fired on suspected Saddam supporters preparing to rocket an American military base 20 miles north of Tikrit, the 4th Infantry Division said. U.S. soldiers later found hundreds of rockets and missiles there.
Along the Syrian border, U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets dropped two satellite-guided bombs Thursday night on a three-story building in Husayba used by insurgents to store ammunition and launch attacks, the 82nd Airborne Division said. American officials have long accused Syria and Iran of allowing fighters to enter Iraq and attack the coalition.
Elsewhere, three 82nd Airborne paratroopers were wounded Thursday night in a rocket attack near Fallujah, the division said. And three soldiers were wounded Friday when a bomb they were trying to defuse exploded in northwestern Baghdad, witnesses said.
U.S. troops blocked the road for about an hour and called over loudspeakers for Iraqis to help them capture the bombers. Troops also handed out leaflets offering a $10,000 reward to anybody with information about insurgents.
In the north, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division captured 14 "suspected terrorists," including eight who belonged to a cell whose leader plotted to kill a top coalition official, the military said.
Faced with a mounting security crisis, the U.S. military announced a tough policy this week of going after the insurgents with massive firepower before they have a chance to strike.
However, Ayatollah al-Modaresi warned "the military solution will make the crisis worse," presumably by alienating Iraqis. The ayatollah, in a statement released by his office, called for more democracy in Iraq and criticized the Americans and their allies for failing to live up to their promises to build a democratic Iraq.
"Seven months have passed and there hasn't been one serious election," said al-Modaresi. "Coalition forces have chosen the Governing Council, distributed ministries the same wrong way and did not hold elections for the provincial councils. They chose them randomly and for this reason many Iraqi are suspicious about the intentions of these forces."
Ayatollahs and other senior Muslim clerics wield considerable influence among Iraq's Shiite community, which forms about 60 percent of the country's population of 25 million. Shiite support is crucial to the success of Bush administration plans to speed the handover of power to the Iraqis.
Washington's policy shift is widely seen as a response to the steadily deteriorating security situation in Iraq, and the uprising that has claimed the lives of over 50 coalition soldiers this month.
Chief U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer returned Thursday from talks with President Bush (news - web sites) and senior national security advisers and will present proposed policy changes to Iraq's Governing Council, possibly as early as Saturday.
On Friday, one council member said the group will study the proposals but may not agree with the details. "For our part, we have our own ideas," said Mahmoud Othman. "We will listen to Bremer and he will listen to us."
Winning speedy agreement on a new political course may take time because of conflicting interests among Iraq's diverse groups.
Shiite leaders will likely oppose any changes that dilute their newly won political power. Sunni Muslims, Iraq's most powerful group under Saddam, worry the Shiites want to establish an Iranian-style Islamic state and resent the growing influence of Shiites. Kurds are also anxious to preserve self-rule in Kurdish areas of the north.
___
Associated Press writers Jim Gomez in Tikrit and Mariam Fam in Mosul contributed to this report.