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Coalition Strikes at Sadr: AC-130 Blows Hell out of Building
A coalition soldier and at least 10 Iraqi militants have been killed in an ongoing battle between U.S.-led coalition forces and radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadrâs militia in Karbala. U.S. forces late Tuesday also conducted operations against al-Sadr in Diwaniyah, east of Najaf, capturing one of the clericâs offices and seizing weapons next door from a girlsâ school. In a statement aimed largely at al-Sadrâs militia, the Mehdi Army, Shiite officials have called on all armed forces to preserve the "sanctity" of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala and condemned the presence of nonofficial armies and the storage of ammunition there. The statement followed a meeting Tuesday of Shiite officials -- both in and outside the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council -- who are intent on defusing tensions in the southern cities and reversing the deteriorating security situation.see post below The coalition has said it intends to destroy the militia and arrest or kill al-Sadr, wanted in connection with the killing of a rival cleric. In Karbala, members of the Mehdi Army attacked the house of the mayor early Wednesday, said a police official. Coalition forces returned fire, and the exchanges lasted until dawn. A coalition soldier -- whose nationality was not released -- was killed Tuesday night during an operation against the militia, according to the Polish-led multinational division based in Karbala. Coalition forces have taken over buildings that the militia once occupied in an effort to establish law and order in the predominantly Shiite city, the division said. In Diwaniyah, officials said an AC-130 gunship fired 40 mm rounds on al-Sadrâs office. The military said its reconnaissance indicated more than a dozen militia members armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades were inside. The militants apparently escaped before the building was struck, officials said. Damn! Military officials said they seized three mortar guns, 70 mortar rounds and rocket-propelled grenades from a girlsâ school next to al-Sadrâs office. They said they believe the Mehdi Army used the school to launch attacks. No, Iâm sure the mortar rounds and rpgs were just for the girlsâ recess recreation. Girls can get pretty catty at that age, you know. Al-Sadr is believed to be holed up in Najaf with members of his militia. Al-Sadrâs militia launched an uprising last month against the coalition and its supporters in Baghdadâs Sadr City neighborhood and southern cities.
Posted by: sludj 2004-05-05 |
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