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US bombards Iraq mosque complex
A US air strike has killed as many as 40 people inside a mosque compound during heavy fighting in the Sunni Muslim Iraqi town of Falluja. A US Marine colonel said the strike targeted insurgents who had fired on US troops from inside the mosque compound. Five US Marines were wounded by gunfire from within the compound, the US military said. The incident came as coalition troops fought separate uprisings by both Sunni and Shia Muslims in several towns. Hospital and military sources in Falluja say that more than 100 Iraqis have been killed in the town since Tuesday. At least 35 coalition troops have also been killed in Iraq in the last three days, including 12 US Marines in a single attack in the town of Ramadi on Tuesday. It is the worst escalation of fighting since the war to topple Saddam Hussein ended a year ago. In Falluja, a reporter for the Associated Press saw cars carrying the dead and wounded from the Abdul-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque, following the US air strike. The US Marine colonel said his troops attacked the mosque complex because Sunni insurgents were using the site to fire on US forces with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. "If they use the mosque as a military machine, then itâs no longer a house of worship and we strike," said Lt Col Brennan Byrne. Col Byrne said an attack helicopter fired a missile at the site before another aircraft dropped a laser-guided bomb. Witnesses said the attack destroyed part of the wall of the compound. Guess what sportsfans? You played dirty and now the gloves are off. If you turn a house of religion into a military base, itâs no longer a Mosque, itâs a target. Have fun worshiping in your rubble. Posted by: Zenster 2004-04-07 |
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