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Iraq

Tense Calm Prevails as Iraqi Forces Seal Off River Town

2006-10-18

BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 -- Police and black-clad Shiite militiamen toting machine guns sealed off the predominantly Shiite city of Balad on Tuesday, guarding against attacks by Sunni insurgents flooding into towns just north of Baghdad, vowing revenge for four days of violence in which dozens of Sunnis were killed.

Calm largely returned to Balad by Tuesday, with Iraqi army troops forcing Shiite militia fighters out of police cars that the militiamen had commandeered for the attacks, said residents reached by telephone in the cut-off town. American troops patrolled the city and guarded one end of a Tigris River bridge that links Balad with Duluiyah, a Sunni farm town also at the epicenter of the outburst of sectarian conflict.

On the Duluiyah end of the bridge, angry Sunni insurgents gathered in force, clutching their PKC machine guns and rocket launchers, standing their tense watch. Abu Achmed, a fighter in the Islamic Army, a Sunni insurgent movement, held a machine gun but wished for more.

Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#4 Some good points jkh. It could be the Iraqis are moving faster towards exhaustion tho. I've heard bandied about that 3 percent of the population is the magic number.

Posted by: Shipman 2006-10-18 18:11

#3 war begets peace and until the bloodletting has run its course(both sides drop from exaustion),there's nt much that can be done in the near term other than across the board international cooperation that includes lots of troops...which ain't going to happen....it took Lebanon 15 yrs for the bloodshed to stop and then we had to leave the Syrians in charge

Posted by: jkh 2006-10-18 13:50

#2 On the Duluiyah end of the bridge, angry Sunni insurgents gathered in force

Why weren't they hit with artillery or cluster bombs?

Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-10-18 10:46

#1 I gotta tell you I read these stories and just don't feel much pitty for the Sunni. Back in 04-05 when we were really trying to calm things down and the Shia/Kurds were weak and willing to come to a mutual agreement. Instead the Sunni chose WAR and they harbored and helped the Insurgency as they slaughtered the Shia/Kurd along with many US forces. Now the tables have been turned and retribution is at hand. After Falluja, Ramadi, Samarra, Quam, Rat lines, Anbar ect... I just dont feel the sorrow. Life has consequences the Sunni gambled all and they lost.

Posted by: C-Low 2006-10-18 09:45

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