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| Iraq |
| Fighting rages in Iraq, death toll higher than 300, UN calls for lifting curfew |
| 2008-03-31 |
| (KUNA) — Fierce armed clashes raged for sixth day in a row on Sunday between Iraqi regular forces and gunmen of the Shiite cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr in and around the southern city of Basra. The clashes with automatic guns, mortars and rockets were reported in the districts of Al-Maaqal, Khamsa Meel, Al-Tamimah, Al-Hakimiah and Al-Jumhouriah. Witnesses said Al-Sadri gunmen were seen in control of several districts in the southern city and that they had planted mines and booby traps at road intersections to impede advance and movement of the regulars. They added that the local troops were backed by American and British foces. The government forces, in the campaign against the militiamen, have dislodged the gunmen from several areas, including the district of Al-Shatt Al-Arab, Al-Tanoumah, the city complex, the oil complex, Al-Kafaat and Al-Arousa public square. Late on Saturday, three persons were killed and seven others were wounded in air strike by the Multi-National Forces north of Basra, the witnesses said. Aircraft bombed a house after spotting three gunmen on its top and killed two others who were close to a rocket launcher in Husainiyat Al-Zahraa region. In the region of Al-Maaqal north of Basra, the witnesses said three persons were killed in MNF air raids last night. Medical sources in basra told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the number of people who have been killed in Basra since flare-up of the fighting last Tuesday reached 195, and that 500 others were wounded. The death toll of the fighting in the city and other parts of Iraq has soared to more than 300, according to sources in the health ministry. Meanwhile, Staffan di Mistura, the UN Special Envoy to Iraq, in remarks to KUNA, called for lifting the curfew temporarily to allow UN teams send necessary supplies to the residential areas where civilians were running out of necessities. The UN agencies have prepared supplies for up to 70,000 families affected with the ongoing fighting. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #14 From March 25-29 the Mahdi Army had an average of 71 of its fighters killed per day. Sixty-nine fighters have been captured per day, and another 160 have been reported wounded per day during the fighting. Jeebus, that's an average of 300 killed/captured/wounded per day! Way to go IA! No wonder Sadr's screaming "Uncle" like a lil' girl so quickly. Mehopes that because it's the Iraqis doin' bidness the MSM won't pay as much attention and that the IA will go in for the kill. Now is NO time to let up because he's screaming "uncle," it's time to put him down for good. |
| Posted by: BA 2008-03-31 21:50 |
| #13 tu3031, LOL! That's the best! |
| Posted by: JDB 2008-03-31 21:38 |
| #12 ROFL, tu. :-D |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-03-31 21:18 |
| #11 Follow up to my last: Appears Sadr is publicly condemning the Iranians because a) his forces are taking a beating and the Iranians aren't helping him, b)the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq has joined in beating up the Mahdi,c) the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq are/were getting more funding from Iran than the Mahdis. In English: Mookie thinks the Iranians back-stabbed him by letting other Iranian-backed forces and an 'Iranian-tool' Maliki (who heads a Kurdish/Sunni Arab/Shiite Arab Iraqi government) attack his forces to determine who'll control the Shiites, which in any case will still be Iranian-backed... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-03-31 21:10 |
| #10 Appears the Iranians are teaching the Mahdi/Special Groups only certain things - obviously not the same schtuff Hesb'allah is getting. Then again, given the proximity to Iran, the Iranians might not want to train the Mahdi et al to a level that they could cause problems later for their masters.... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-03-31 15:17 |
| #9 ...the UN Special Envoy to Iraq, in remarks to KUNA, called for lifting the curfew temporarily to allow UN teams send necessary supplies to the residential areas where civilians were running out of necessities. The UN: The Pizza Delivery Boys of the War on Terror. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-03-31 14:39 |
| #8 thanks skunky, it would be so great if the Iraqis could - decisively defeat Sadr in the south - cripple Al Q in the Mosul area and then - send (maybe by late summer) a small detachment to afghanistan to help train the afghans. |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-03-31 13:18 |
| #7 mhw, the Iranians have been training the Syrians, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Mahdi. The American have been training the Iraqi. You be the judge of how that is working out. Not only that, but the Iraqi Army is taking the lead in this battle. Want to guess the panic/concern in Tehran at this hour? If this was a dress rehearsal for future mid east activity, expect the verbal rhetoric to increase to cover for the lack of military capability. |
| Posted by: Skunky Glins5285 2008-03-31 12:53 |
| #6 Maybe the reason is because they dress all in black with black ski masks so nobody will recognize them. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2008-03-31 09:30 |
| #5 Notice that the only thing the UN wants to do is resupply the Mahdi army. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2008-03-31 09:30 |
| #4 Sadr's fighters don't seem to have improved their combat skills much since 2004. I presume the Iranians (or maybe Hizbollah)tried to help them but it evidently do much good. |
| Posted by: mhw 2008-03-31 09:00 |
| #3 Good. Fling away the agenda and attack towards unlimited objectives using the indirect approach and ginsu knife theory. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Angavick7428 2008-03-31 05:32 |
| #2 TOPIX > HIZBOLLAH PREDICTS DEMISE OF US AGENDA IN REGION; + IRAN, NOT AL-SADR, LEADING/ORDERING SHIA ATTACKS IN IRAQ. SADR > the question becomes WHY!? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-03-31 03:03 |
| #1 Bill Roggio: Sadr orders followers to end fighting [..] Sadr’s call for an end to fighting by his followers comes as his Mahdi Army has taken high casualties over the past six days. Since the fighting began on Tuesday, 358 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 531 were wounded, 343 were captured, and 30 surrendered. The US and Iraqi security forces have killed 125 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone, while Iraqi security forces have killed 140 Mahdi fighters in Basrah. From March 25-29 the Mahdi Army had an average of 71 of its fighters killed per day. Sixty-nine fighters have been captured per day, and another 160 have been reported wounded per day during the fighting. The US and Iraqi military never came close to inflicting casualties at such a high rate during the height of major combat operations against al Qaeda in Iraq during the summer and fall of 2007. US and Iraqi forces are maintaining the high pace of operations against the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups. While the daily reporting from Iraq is far from over, initial reports indicate at least 18 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed and another 30 captured. US soldiers killed 14 Mahdi fighters in Baghdad during a series of separate engagements. Iraqi security forces killed four Mahdi Army fighters and captured another 30 in Babil province, where a major offensive led by the police has been underway. [..] |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-03-31 02:12 |