| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"PagCal" |
| Date: |
17 Oct 2004 04:03:20 PM |
| Object: |
War In Iraq Continues: Where's Bush's Mission Accomplished ? |
washingtonpost.com
Violence Continues in Fallujah
Nine Iraqi Policemen Reportedly Killed; Possible Explosion Near U.S.
Military Base
The Associated Press
Sunday, October 17, 2004; 4:45 PM
BAGHDAD -- U.S. troops pounded the insurgent stronghold Fallujah with
airstrikes and tank fire Sunday, and the Iraqi government appealed to
residents of the city to expel "foreign terrorists" and "murderers" to
prevent an all-out attack.
A mortar shell exploded Sunday at a Baghdad sports stadium minutes
before Prime Minister Ayad Allawi arrived to inspect a cash-for-weapons
program for Shiite fighters. Insurgents, meanwhile, ambushed and killed
nine Iraqi policemen as they were returning home from a training course
in Jordan.
Throughout the day, the crackle of automatic weapons fire and the thud
of artillery echoed across Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, as
fighting between American troops and insurgents raged on the eastern and
southern edges of the city, witnesses said.
Clashes blocked the main road leading to Baghdad, and plumes of smoke
rose above the flat-roofed houses in the city's Askari and Shuhada
neighborhoods in eastern and southern Fallujah.
Witnesses said a Humvee was seen burning in the eastern edge of the
city, and hospital officials reported three civilians were killed. There
was no casualty report from the U.S. military.
American forces have stepped up attacks around Fallujah since peace
talks between the Iraqi government and Fallujah clerics broke down last
Thursday after city leaders rejected Allawi's demand to hand over
"foreign terrorists," including Jordanian-born extremist Abu Musab Zarqawi.
Fallujah clerics insist Zarqawi, whose Tawhid and Jihad movement has
claimed responsibility for multiple suicide car-bombings and hostage
beheadings, is not in the city. Fallujah fell under the control of
hardline Islamic clerics and their armed followers after U.S. Marines
lifted a three-week siege in late April.
As the Iraqis try to reach a peaceful end to the Fallujah standoff, the
U.S. military is believed to be drafting plans for an all-out assault on
the city if negotiations fail.
In London, the British Defense Ministry said the United States has asked
Britain to redeploy hundreds of troops from southern Iraq amid reports
the soldiers will back up the Americans in the event of a major attack
on Fallujah.
British media reports say the United States wants British soldiers to
replace units of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines in Iskandariyah, about
30 miles south of Baghdad.
Defense Minister Geoff Hoon will confirm the American request Monday
before the House of Commons and say Britain has not made a decision, a
ministry spokesman said.
On Sunday, Allawi's government renewed its call for Fallujah to
surrender al-Zarqawi and others, saying their presence in "some areas
and cities" is "something the government cannot accept or tolerate."
"We call upon the sons and tribes of Fallujah to immediately expel
foreign terrorists and evacuate all the city's neighborhoods from these
murderers and their criminal supporters who want to hamper plans of
reconstructing Iraq," National Security Adviser Qassem Dawoud said in a
statement.
Dawoud said "the door is still open before any initiative or effort to
avoid having to use the military option."
Elsewhere, police said Sunday that nine Iraqi policemen returning from
training in Jordan were ambushed and killed Saturday in Latifiyah, an
insurgent stronghold 25 miles south of Baghdad. The attackers escaped.
Latifiyah is part of a belt of towns just south of the capital where
kidnappings and ambushes have been common.
Along the Syrian border, overnight clashes between U.S. troops and
insurgents left four people dead and 13 others wounded, Dr. Wael Duleimi
said Sunday from the border town of Qaim. The city is a hotbed of
insurgent activity and is believed to be a major route for smuggling
weapons and fighters into Iraq.
In hopes of sparing Fallujah further violence, the city's clerics have
offered to resume peace talks if the Americans stop their attacks. But
the talks have deadlocked over the alleged presence of Zarqawi and other
foreign fighters.
"We are still ready to go back to the talks and open new channels of
dialogue," said negotiator Abdul Hamid Jadou. But he said Allawi is
"responsible for each drop of blood being spilled in Fallujah. This
government sided with the Americans in bombing the innocent people who
are fasting in Ramadan."
Meanwhile, a military prosecutor in Jordan indicted Zarqawi and 12
others for an alleged plot to attack the U.S. Embassy in Amman and
Jordanian government targets with chemical and conventional weapons,
government officials said. The alleged plot was first revealed by Jordan
in April.
Iraqi officials hope that Fallujah leaders can be persuaded to negotiate
a deal similar to one struck with Shiite radical cleric Moqtada Sadr to
end clashes in the Sadr City district of Baghdad. Under the deal,
al-Sadr's fighters have been turning in weapons for cash.
On Sunday, a mortar shell exploded at a sports stadium about 15 minutes
before Allawi was to arrive to inspect the guns-for-cash program. The
itinerary was quickly changed and Allawi visited several other sites
before arriving at the stadium.
"I am very thrilled and pleased that things are moving in the right
direction and arms are being surrendered to the Iraqi government," he said.
Allawi also called on Iraqis throughout the country -- whether in Basra,
Nasiriyah, Fallujah, Ramadi or Mosul -- to surrender their weapons and
to respect the rule of law and to be part of the political process.
More than 200 detainees were released Sunday from Abu Ghraib prison
after a security review deemed them no longer a threat, the U.S.
military said.
It was the fifth round of releases since a review board set up by
coalition forces and the interim Iraqi government began work in August
following a torture scandal at the detention facility.
Also Sunday, the 1st Cavalry Division said an investigation had not yet
determined what caused two Army OH-58 helicopters to crash Saturday
night in southern Baghdad, killing two soldiers and injuring two others.
The division spokesman, Lt. Col. James Hutton, said it "could be days"
before the cause is officially determined.
Associated Press correspondent Rawya Rageh in Baghdad and an AP employee
in Fallujah contributed to this report.
© 2004 The Associated Press
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