XASA
04-06-2004, 12:18 PM
RIP
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 6, 2004
7 G.I.'s Killed in Iraq Fights Since Weekend, U.S. Says
By KIRK SEMPLE
Seven American soldiers died in clashes in Baghdad and Falluja since the weekend, the American military said today, as fighting between the American-led military coalition and Iraqi militia continued to roil Iraq.
An aide to the radical Shiite cleric who has inspired some of the resistance and is wanted by the American and Iraqi authorities said today that the rebellion among the cleric's followers would continue until the coalition troops withdrew from cities and towns.
But the top American administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, said today that the uprisings would not derail the plan to hand sovereignty to the Iraqis on June 30.
"The attacks that have gone on against coalition forces will be dealt with," Mr. Bremer said on CBS's "Early Show" this morning. "We will suppress these minor-sized militia, which are illegal. And we will proceed with the political process."
Four of the most recent American deaths occurred on Monday in Falluja, where the American military and Iraqi security forces have encircled the city and are seeking to crush strongholds of Sunni Muslim insurgents held responsible for the ambush of four American civilian guards last Wednesday. A military spokesman in Baghdad said no further details of the Monday deaths were available.
The three other American deaths occurred in separate attacks in the Shiite-dominated Kadhimyar district of Baghdad, where coalition troops battled militia loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the militant Shiite cleric whose followers mounted an uprising over the weekend in at least six Iraqi cities, the military said.
One soldier died when his Bradley fighting vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade early today, a military spokesman said in Baghdad. The other two deaths occurred on Monday, one when a military convoy came under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, and the second during a firefight with militia members, the spokesman said. The deaths brought to 11 the total number of American soldiers killed in fighting in Baghdad since Sunday.
In Najaf, an aide to Mr. Sadr said at a news conference that the uprising by the cleric's supporters would continue until occupying troops were withdrawn from populated areas and prisoners were released, ******* reported.
The aide, Qays al-Khazali, also read a statement from Mr. Sadr denouncing President Bush as "the great evil."
"This insurrection shows that the Iraqi people are not satisfied with the occupation and they will not accept oppression," the statement said.
He called on all countries to withdraw their soldiers from Iraq.
Mr. Sadr, who is being sought by American and Iraqi authorities, had been holed up in a mosque in the city of Kufa, but said he had decided to leave the sanctuary because he feared it would be raided by foreign troops. He had vowed to stay in the mosque until his demands were met. Mr. Sadr was reported to have traveled to Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, earlier today.
On Monday, American administrators declared Mr. Sadr an "outlaw" and disclosed that an Iraqi judge had issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the murder of a rival cleric last April.
Mr. Bremer, in an interview on CNN today, vowed to arrest Mr. Sadr.
"He believes that in the new Iraq, like in the old Iraq, power should be with the guy who's got the guns, and that's an unacceptable vision for Iraq," he said. "He represents a fundamental challenge to the rule of law in Iraq, and it will not stand."
American and Iraqi forces that have amassed on the outskirts of Falluja have begun conducting raids in the city in what Donald H. Rumsfeld, the defense secretary, called "a methodical effort" to find and capture the people responsible for killing the four American military contractors last week in Falluja. Speaking at a televised news conference in Norfolk, Va., this morning, Mr. Rumsfeld said that coalition forces had targeted "high-value targets" and captured or killed several people since the weekend.
Explosions and gunfire were heard in the city throughout the night and into this morning, though the majority of the American-led force remained on the outskirts of the city, The Associated Press reported. Marines pushed into an industrial zone in the eastern part of the city, clashing with guerrillas.
Elsewhere in Iraq, fighting flared up between coalition troops and guerrillas. Italian troops clashed with Mr. Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, ******* reported. Four Italian vehicles were set ablaze during the predawn fighting and 12 Italian soldiers were injured.
Militants also clashed with British troops in Amara, Ukrainian troops in Kut and Polish troops south of Kerbala, the news agency said.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | Help | Back to Top
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 6, 2004
7 G.I.'s Killed in Iraq Fights Since Weekend, U.S. Says
By KIRK SEMPLE
Seven American soldiers died in clashes in Baghdad and Falluja since the weekend, the American military said today, as fighting between the American-led military coalition and Iraqi militia continued to roil Iraq.
An aide to the radical Shiite cleric who has inspired some of the resistance and is wanted by the American and Iraqi authorities said today that the rebellion among the cleric's followers would continue until the coalition troops withdrew from cities and towns.
But the top American administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, said today that the uprisings would not derail the plan to hand sovereignty to the Iraqis on June 30.
"The attacks that have gone on against coalition forces will be dealt with," Mr. Bremer said on CBS's "Early Show" this morning. "We will suppress these minor-sized militia, which are illegal. And we will proceed with the political process."
Four of the most recent American deaths occurred on Monday in Falluja, where the American military and Iraqi security forces have encircled the city and are seeking to crush strongholds of Sunni Muslim insurgents held responsible for the ambush of four American civilian guards last Wednesday. A military spokesman in Baghdad said no further details of the Monday deaths were available.
The three other American deaths occurred in separate attacks in the Shiite-dominated Kadhimyar district of Baghdad, where coalition troops battled militia loyal to Moktada al-Sadr, the militant Shiite cleric whose followers mounted an uprising over the weekend in at least six Iraqi cities, the military said.
One soldier died when his Bradley fighting vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade early today, a military spokesman said in Baghdad. The other two deaths occurred on Monday, one when a military convoy came under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, and the second during a firefight with militia members, the spokesman said. The deaths brought to 11 the total number of American soldiers killed in fighting in Baghdad since Sunday.
In Najaf, an aide to Mr. Sadr said at a news conference that the uprising by the cleric's supporters would continue until occupying troops were withdrawn from populated areas and prisoners were released, ******* reported.
The aide, Qays al-Khazali, also read a statement from Mr. Sadr denouncing President Bush as "the great evil."
"This insurrection shows that the Iraqi people are not satisfied with the occupation and they will not accept oppression," the statement said.
He called on all countries to withdraw their soldiers from Iraq.
Mr. Sadr, who is being sought by American and Iraqi authorities, had been holed up in a mosque in the city of Kufa, but said he had decided to leave the sanctuary because he feared it would be raided by foreign troops. He had vowed to stay in the mosque until his demands were met. Mr. Sadr was reported to have traveled to Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, earlier today.
On Monday, American administrators declared Mr. Sadr an "outlaw" and disclosed that an Iraqi judge had issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the murder of a rival cleric last April.
Mr. Bremer, in an interview on CNN today, vowed to arrest Mr. Sadr.
"He believes that in the new Iraq, like in the old Iraq, power should be with the guy who's got the guns, and that's an unacceptable vision for Iraq," he said. "He represents a fundamental challenge to the rule of law in Iraq, and it will not stand."
American and Iraqi forces that have amassed on the outskirts of Falluja have begun conducting raids in the city in what Donald H. Rumsfeld, the defense secretary, called "a methodical effort" to find and capture the people responsible for killing the four American military contractors last week in Falluja. Speaking at a televised news conference in Norfolk, Va., this morning, Mr. Rumsfeld said that coalition forces had targeted "high-value targets" and captured or killed several people since the weekend.
Explosions and gunfire were heard in the city throughout the night and into this morning, though the majority of the American-led force remained on the outskirts of the city, The Associated Press reported. Marines pushed into an industrial zone in the eastern part of the city, clashing with guerrillas.
Elsewhere in Iraq, fighting flared up between coalition troops and guerrillas. Italian troops clashed with Mr. Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, ******* reported. Four Italian vehicles were set ablaze during the predawn fighting and 12 Italian soldiers were injured.
Militants also clashed with British troops in Amara, Ukrainian troops in Kut and Polish troops south of Kerbala, the news agency said.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | Help | Back to Top