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G.I.âs Kill Scores of Militia Forces in 3 Iraqi Cities
EFLThe Americans pursued Mr. Sadrâs militia forces in the warrens and alleyways of two of the holiest Shiite cities, Karbala and Najaf, where the rebels have barricaded themselves for more than a month. Mr. Sadrâs militiamen in Karbala fired rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47âs at more than 100 soldiers, who moved low along walls and inched their way down a mile-long stretch of road, returning fire as roadside bombs exploded near them. The soldiers reportedly killed at least 25 insurgents in Karbala, 12 in Najaf and at least 41 in two separate battles around Kufa. There were no United States casualties reported Friday, but a Pole and an Algerian working for a state-run Polish television network were killed by gunmen as they drove through the town of Mahmudiya on the road from Baghdad to Najaf. The firefights were the most intense since the American military started an operation here on Tuesday night to crush Mr. Sadrâs thousands-strong militia, called the Mahdi Army. The stiff resistance seems to indicate that many of the militiamen are prepared to fight to the death. In Baghdad, Shiite followers of Mr. Sadr held a rare joint Friday Prayers service with Sunni Muslims at the hard-line Abu Hanifa Mosque in the Adhamiya neighborhood, once a stronghold of Saddam Hussein and the scene of fierce battles involving American soldiers last month. Organizers said the cooperation showed that Iraqis were united against prisoner abuse. The fighting in Karbala erupted when members of Mr. Sadrâs militia attacked an American patrol on Thursday evening and another on Friday morning, resulting in firefights that lasted for several hours. By Friday morning, the fighters had laid trunks of palm trees and boulders across the main avenue. A dozen Bradley fighting vehicles and two armored personnel carriers rolled around the obstacles as more than 100 soldiers made their way on foot along the low-slung buildings on either side. At one point, a sniper blew away the head of an insurgent looking around the corner of an alley. A rocket-propelled grenade whistled past the faces of more than a dozen soldiers crouched against a wall. At least one Bradley fighting vehicle took a direct hit from the same type of projectile, though no one inside was wounded. One soldier fainted from heat exhaustion, and two were dragged into Bradleys and given water before they collapsed. Some soldiers found a hose by a house and doused one another with it after taking off their helmets. Roadside bombs exploded along the length of the street. Soldiers had to sprint past some that had not been detonated. The Bradleys fired powerful 25-millimeter cannons at figures darting down alleyways, even as insurgents poked their AK-47âs around corners and sprayed the area. By the time the last bullet was fired, bodies lay strewn across the roads. One Iraqi crouching in a bush had been killed by shrapnel from three grenades. In the middle of the street, a man in a beige robe writhed in a pool of blood for half an hour before falling still. Posted by: Paul Moloney 2004-05-08 |
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