......and crowds are still chanting pro Saddam slogans.
U.S.: 54 Iraqi Fighters Killed in Battle
By SABAH JERGES, Associated Press Writer
SAMARRA, Iraq - The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed in the northern
city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of
simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. But
residents said Monday that the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead
were mostly civilians.
By the American account, Sunday's fighting was the bloodiest combat reported
since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in a U.S.-led
invasion.
West of Baghdad, assailants ambushed a U.S. military convoy on Monday, killing
one soldier, the U.S. military said. The attack with small arms fire occurred
near Habbaniyah, 50 miles west of the Iraqi capital, the military said. The
soldier's name was withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The U.S. military said attackers in Samarra, many wearing uniforms of Saddam's
Fedayeen paramilitary force, struck at two U.S. convoys at opposite sides of
Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.
The scars of the battle were evident on Monday. About a dozen cars lay
destroyed in the streets, many apparently crushed by tanks, and bullet holes
pocked many buildings. A rowdy crowd gathered at one spot, chanting pro-Saddam
slogans. One man fired warning shots in the air when journalists arrived at the
scene.
There was no U.S. military presence in the city center on Monday. Shops opened,
and residents moved around town.
At a news conference at a U.S. military base in Samarra, Col. Frederick
Rudesheim said the American convoys were on a mission to deliver currency to
banks when the coordinated ambushes took place.
"That was a given location that they knew we would go to," Rudesheim said.
"This was done in a concerted fashion."
At the U.S. base, half a dozen suspects were seen with bags over their heads
and their hands bound by plastic cuffs.
Many residents said Saddam loyalists attacked the Americans, but that when U.S.
forces began firing at random, many civilians got their guns and joined the
fight. Many said residents were bitter about recent U.S. raids in the night.
"Why do they arrest people when they're in their homes?" asked Athir Abdul
Salam, a 19-year-old student. "They come at night to arrest people. So what do
they expect those people to do?"
"Civilians shot back at the Americans," said 30-year-old Ali Hassan, who was
wounded by shrapnel in the battle. "They claim we are terrorists. So OK, we are
terrorists. What do they expect when they drive among us?"
Many residents said the Americans opened fire at random when they came under
attack, and targeted civilian installations. Six destroyed vehicles sat in
front of the hospital, where witnesses said U.S. tanks shelled people dropping
off the injured. A kindergarten was damaged, apparently by tank shells. No
children were hurt.
"Luckily we evacuated the children five minutes before we came under attack,"
said Ibrahim Jassim, a 40-year-old guard at the kindergarten. "Why did they
attack randomly? Why did they shoot a kindergarten with tank shells?"
Military officials in Baghdad said they haven't reported a deadlier attack
since May 1, when President Bush (news - web sites) declared major combat over.
U.S. officials have only sporadically released figures on Iraqi casualties, and
wouldn't say whether there has been a deadlier firefight that went unreported.
The U.S. military initially said 46 Iraqi fighters died and five American
soldiers were injured. But a statement on Monday raised the Iraqi dead to 54.
Residents of Samarra disputed those figures, saying at most eight or nine
people died. Three bodies lay in the hospital morgue. There was no way to
reconcile the accounts.
The scale of the attack and the apparent coordination of the two operations
showed that rebel units retain the ability to conduct synchronized operations
despite a massive U.S. offensive this month aimed at crushing the insurgency.
At least 104 coalition troops have died in Iraq (news - web sites) in November,
including 79 American troops. In terms of coalition losses, it has been the
bloodiest month of the war that began March 20.
As of Wednesday, Nov. 26, 434 U.S. service members have died since the
beginning of military operations in Iraq, according to the Department of
Defense (news - web sites). Of those, 298 died as a result of hostile action
and 136 died of non-hostile causes, the department said. This total did not
include Monday's reported death.
Also Sunday, two South Korean contractors were killed near Samarra in a
roadside ambush in what U.S. officials called a new campaign aimed at
undermining international support for the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Attacks
on Saturday killed seven Spaniards, two Japanese diplomats and a Colombian oil
worker.
The bodies of the two Japanese diplomats were flown to Kuwait and arrangements
are being made for transporting them home, a Japanese diplomat said Monday on
condition of anonymity.
In Seoul, the South Korean government vowed Monday to stick by plans to send up
to 3,000 troops to Iraq despite the killing of two South Korean engineers.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reiterated Monday his vow that the
attack on the Japanese diplomats would not alter Tokyo's commitments to send
non-combat troops, provide humanitarian aid and participate in the
reconstruction of Iraq.
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| User: "Leigh_Bee" |
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| Title: Re: Saddam's Fedayeen still fighting.... |
01 Dec 2003 05:45:19 PM |
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(TonyZ2001) wrote in message news:<20031201083857.05235.00001148@mb-m21.aol.com>...
.....and crowds are still chanting pro Saddam slogans.
U.S.: 54 Iraqi Fighters Killed in Battle
By SABAH JERGES, Associated Press Writer
SAMARRA, Iraq - The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed in the northern
city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of
simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. But
residents said Monday that the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead
were mostly civilians.
By the American account, Sunday's fighting was the bloodiest combat reported
since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in a U.S.-led
invasion.
With all the spin what is the truth?
A report from the hospital claimed, all the dead were civilians and
one person captured and half the town shot up.
Then we have the 54 dead and 8 captured.
LB
From Body Bags to Transfer Tubes.
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| User: "WH" |
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| Title: Re: Saddam's Fedayeen still fighting.... |
02 Dec 2003 03:37:27 AM |
|
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"Leigh_Bee" <leigh8bee@optusnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:39cd5fe.0312011545.50131b8a@posting.google.com...
tonyz2001@aol.com (TonyZ2001) wrote in message
news:<20031201083857.05235.00001148@mb-m21.aol.com>...
.....and crowds are still chanting pro Saddam slogans.
U.S.: 54 Iraqi Fighters Killed in Battle
By SABAH JERGES, Associated Press Writer
SAMARRA, Iraq - The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed in the
northern
city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way
out of
simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. But
residents said Monday that the casualty figure was much lower and that
the dead
were mostly civilians.
By the American account, Sunday's fighting was the bloodiest combat
reported
since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in a
U.S.-led
invasion.
With all the spin what is the truth?
A report from the hospital claimed, all the dead were civilians and
one person captured and half the town shot up.
Then we have the 54 dead and 8 captured.
LB
From Body Bags to Transfer Tubes.
Yes indeed!
Battle Casualties Disputed
By Mohamad Bazzi
MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT
December 2, 2003
Samarra, Iraq - Residents of this central Iraqi city yesterday disputed the
U.S. military's claim that 54 Iraqi guerrillas were killed in a two-hour
firefight that ensued Sunday as U.S. forces fought their way out of
coordinated ambushes.
Iraqis said that fewer than 10 people were killed in the battle and that
several of them were civilians caught in the crossfire. The two convoys,
accompanied by tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, were delivering large
amounts of money to Iraqi banks in the center of Samarra, according to
military officials.
By the U.S. military's account, it was the deadliest firefight between
American forces and Iraqis since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in
April. U.S. troops killed 54 of the attackers, wounded 22 and captured
eight, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said in Baghdad. He said five U.S. soldiers
were wounded.
But doctors at the local hospital said only six bodies were brought to the
morgue Sunday night, and Iraqi police said eight people were killed. There
was no way to reconcile the Iraqis' accounts of the battle with that of the
U.S. military.
There were even differing estimates given by U.S. commanders. Hours before
Kimmitt announced his figures in Baghdad, Col. Frederick Rudesheim,
commander of the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, told
reporters at the U.S. base in Samarra that 46 guerrillas had been killed, 18
wounded and 11 captured.
Capt. Mouwafaq Hamid, a member of the U.S.-trained Iraqi police force in
Samarra, said eight people were killed in the battle, several of them
civilians. "It was a very chaotic situation," he said. "There was shooting
and heavy weapons fire for more than an hour. Innocent people were killed
and injured."
Rudesheim said U.S. troops returned fire directly at those who fired on them
and commanders calculated the number of Iraqi casualties based on interviews
with all the soldiers involved in the battle.
"The adversary we face in this area will not bring all casualties to the
local hospital," he said. "This is going to be a difficult picture to put
together."
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
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| User: "ralph gibbons" |
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| Title: Re: Saddam's Fedayeen still fighting.... |
02 Dec 2003 10:02:26 AM |
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(Leigh_Bee) wrote in message news:<39cd5fe.0312011545.50131b8a@posting.google.com>...
tonyz2001@aol.com (TonyZ2001) wrote in message news:<20031201083857.05235.00001148@mb-m21.aol.com>...
.....and crowds are still chanting pro Saddam slogans.
U.S.: 54 Iraqi Fighters Killed in Battle
By SABAH JERGES, Associated Press Writer
SAMARRA, Iraq - The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed in the northern
city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of
simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. But
residents said Monday that the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead
were mostly civilians.
By the American account, Sunday's fighting was the bloodiest combat reported
since the fall of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in a U.S.-led
invasion.
With all the spin what is the truth?
A report from the hospital claimed, all the dead were civilians and
one person captured and half the town shot up.
Then we have the 54 dead and 8 captured.
LB
From Body Bags to Transfer Tubes.
After hearing reports about the American reprisal killings in Samarra,
Iraq over the weekend, which left a number of Iraqis, almost all
civilians, dead, Lyndon LaRouche said that we should refer to the
incident as ``George Bush's Appointment in Samarra.'' The incident
reflected, in LaRouche's words, an American ``loss of nerve,'' over
the ever-more rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground there.
The resistance to the Anglo-American occupation is stubborn and real.
As LaRouche warned in his Thanksgiving weekend campaign statement,
there is only one way out of the quagmire: A rapid American
withdrawal and return of the country to true Iraqi sovereignty--and
not some handoff to neo-con man Ahmed Chalabi and his ilk.
LaRouche's formulation, ``George Bush's Appointment in
Samarra'' refers to a W. Somerset Maugham very short story, which
appears here in its entirety:
- `The Appointment in Samarra' -
- (as retold by W. Somerset Maugham [1933]) -
``The speaker is Death.
``There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to
market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back,
white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the
marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I
saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a
threatening gesture. Now, lend me your horse, and I
will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra
and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse,
and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as
fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down
to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to
me and said, Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when
you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said,
it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in
Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.''
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