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Missile Fired at U.S. Plane in Iraq
Severely EFLIn a marked escalation in attacks, suspected insurgents tried to shoot down a U.S. transport plane with a surface-to-air missile Wednesday, killed an American soldier in a convoy and gunned down the mayor of an Iraqi city. The new American commander in Iraq acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that coalition forces are facing a ``classical guerrilla-type war situationââ against opponents ranging from members of Saddam Husseinâs Baath Party to non-Iraqi fighters from terrorist groups. Gen. John Abizaid spoke on the eve of a banned holiday Saddam loyalists could use to demonstrate their power. The U.S. military said one surface-to-air missile was fired on a C-130 transport as it landed at Baghdad International Airport. It was only the second known missile attack on a plane using the airport since Baghdad fell to U.S. forces on April 9, said Spc. Giovani Lorente. He said he did not know where the plane came from or whether it was carrying passengers, cargo or both. Meanwhile, Mohammed Nayil al-Jurayfi, who had actively cooperated with U.S. forces as the new mayor of Haditha, was killed when his car was ambushed by attackers firing automatic rifles as he drove away from his office in the city 150 miles northwest of Baghdad, police Capt. Khudhier Mohammed said. One of the mayorâs sons also was killed. Mohammed said the mayor, who took office after Saddamâs fall, was slain because he was ``seizing carsââ from Saddam loyalists who used to work in the deposed Iraqi leaderâs offices in Hadithah, a city in the restive ``Sunni Triangleââ that is home to many supporters of the ousted dictator. The American soldier was killed and three others were injured in a rocket-propelled grenade attack west of Baghdad near the Abu Ghraib prison, a U.S. military spokesman said. In a separate attack, an 8-year-old Iraqi child died when an assailant threw a grenade into a U.S. military vehicle guarding a bank in west Baghdad. The American driver of the vehicle was wounded along with four Iraqi bystanders, according to Army Maj. Kevin West. ``Theyâre killing more Iraqis than they are Americans,ââ West said, shaking his head. That doesnât bother the Baâathists. The Haditha police captain, whose station is next to the mayorâs office, told The Associated Press some government employees received a leaflet Wednesday warning them not to go to work. The leaflet was signed ``Liberating Iraqâs Army.ââ The Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera reported that residents of Hadithah had accused the slain mayor of collaborating with coalition forces. Hadithah shopowner Amir Jafar concurred, saying: ``This mayor is an unwanted person ... He doesnât belong to this city. He is from another city and he was cooperating with the Americans.ââ "We just HAD to shoot âim. Had to!" The attack was certain to have a chilling effect on other Iraqi officials. Samir Shakir Mahmoud, one of the members of the new Governing Council hand-picked by Iraqâs U.S. administrator, hails from Haditha. Former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik, who is now running the Iraqi Interior Ministry and working to rebuild Iraqâs police force, was asked if he thought Osama bin Ladenâs al-Qaida terror network was behind the attacks. ``Nobody is identified as al-Qaida yet. Could they be out there? Itâs possible. The bottom line is I donât care if theyâre al-Qaida, I donât care if theyâre Fedayeen. I donât care if they are Baathists, I donât care who they are. If they attack the coalition and they attack the police theyâre gong to be arrested or theyâre going to be killed,ââ Kerik said. Now letâs make it happen. Posted by: Steve White 2003-07-17 |
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