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U.S. Launches Fresh Strike in Fallujah on Zarqawi Safe House
U.S.-led coalition military forces struck a suspected terrorist safehouse in Fallujah on Friday, hoping to cripple Abu Musab al-Zarqawiâs terror network.cripple? Kill.Them. "We conducted another attack against the Zarqawi network today: coalition forces conducted another strike on a known Zarqawi network safe house in Southeastern Fallujah, based on multiple confirmations of Iraqi and Coalition intelligence," a senior coalition military official said. "This operation employed precision weapons to target and destroy the safe house," the official said. As many as 25 people were in the house at the time but it was not clear how many were killed or wounded. Earlier Friday in Fallujah, explosions and gunfire rocked the turbulent city for a second day Friday, after coordinated attacks in other Iraqi cities killed about 100 people less than a week before Iraqâs new government takes power. seems they donât like the handover U.S. tanks and armored vehicles maneuvered on the highway near the edges of the city, firing in several directions, while armed men in an eastern suburb returned fire, witnesses said. Seven people have died in two days of exchanges there, hospital officials said. Hours later, a roadside bomb exploded in a residential neighborhood in Baghdad, killing one Iraqi policeman and wounding another, police said. The attacks on security forces fit a pattern of violence that targeted several cities on Thursday, when insurgents set off car bombs and seized police stations in an offensive aimed at creating chaos just days before the handover of power to a new Iraqi government. U.S. and Iraqi forces regained control in heavy fighting, but the dayâs violence killed about 100 people, most of them Iraqi civilians. Al-Zarqawiâs terror network claimed responsibility for the attacks Thursday. A large number were killed in simultaneous car bombings in the northern city of Mosul, but some also died as U.S. troops battled the guerrillas. Three U.S. soldiers were among the dead. At least 320 people were wounded, including 12 Americans. As the situation worsened, Iraqâs interim vice president warned that a drastic deterioration in the countryâs security could lead to emergency laws or martial law, however undesirable such measures may be in a democratic society. "Announcing emergency laws or martial law depends on the nature of the situation. In normal situations, there is clearly no need for that (step)," Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite and member of the Islamic Dawa Party, told The Associated Press in an interview late Thursday. "But in cases of excess challenges, emergency laws have their place," he said, adding that any such laws would fall within a "democratic framework that respects the rights of Iraqis." Iraqâs new leaders have recently begun to suggest the possibility of at least some form of martial law in some hotspots around the country as a way of stemming the tide of violence. It is unclear, however, whether U.S. officials would go along with the idea. A U.N. Security Council resolution approved this month gives the United States a primary security role in Iraq even after the transfer of sovereignty Wednesday. American forces set up checkpoints around Iraq on Thursday to intercept weapons, guerrillas and bombs. They fear that al-Zarqawi plans a string of car bombings in Baghdad, said Col. Michael Formica, commander of the 1st Cavalry Divisionâs 2nd Brigade. good assumption "There is clearly a transnational threat, as represented by al-Zarqawi, and that threat appears â based on what weâve seen in Fallujah and Mosul today â to want to bring the attack to Baghdad," Formica said Thursday. A large number of the dead from Thursdayâs attacks were killed in simultaneous car bombings in the northern city of Mosul, but some also died as U.S. troops battled the guerrillas. "We underestimated the nature of the insurgency that we might face during this period, and so the insurgency that we are looking at now ... has become a serious problem for us," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the British Broadcast Corp. The assaults were launched in the morning on Thursday, when black-clad guerrillas attacked police stations and government complexes in Baghdad, Baqouba, Mosul, Ramadi and Mahaweel. The heaviest fighting was in Baqouba, northeast of the capital, where guerrillas shot their way into a government office complex, seized two police stations and destroyed the home of the provincial police chief. The stations were recaptured Thursday afternoon, Maj. Neal OâBrien of the 1st Infantry Division said Friday. Two American soldiers died in the Baqouba fighting, the 1st Infantry Division said. Insurgents also attacked a police station in a Baqouba suburb late Thursday, killing three officers and injuring one, said Dr. Nassir Jawad, who is in charge of the Baqouba morgue. Isolated skirmishes were also reported nearby into Thursday evening, OâBrien said Friday. Al-Zarqawiâs followers claimed responsibility for Thursdayâs attacks in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site often used by his Tawhid and Jihad movement. The statement said the "occupation troops and apostates" â meaning Iraqi police â "were overwhelmed with shock and confusion." Al-Zarqawi earlier claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and beheadings of American businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean hostage Kim Sun-il, and an audiotape released Wednesday purporting to be by al-Zarqawi threatened to kill Iraqâs prime minister. Analysis of the tape showed it likely was al-Zarqawiâs voice, a CIA official said Thursday. American and Iraqi officials insisted the transfer of power would proceed as planned June 30. On Thursday, the coalition turned over the last 11 government ministries to Iraqi officials. During the handover ceremony, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said the attacks were "only acts of disturbances conducted by cowards" meant "to foil the democratic process." Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-25 |
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