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El Salvador Sends Troops to Iraq Despite Threats
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (Reuters) - El Salvador sent a new contingent of troops to join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq on Thursday despite repeated threats from Islamic militants that they would strike against the country in retaliation. Gen. Carlos Soto said 150 soldiers flew out from a military air base south of the capital San Salvador early in the morning for a six-month stint in Iraq, and another 230 will be deployed between Friday and Sunday.El Salvador joined the Iraq coalition last year and this is its third contingent to fly out to the war. It was sent to replace a 380-strong group of soldiers due to return home soon.
A string of threats have been posted by Islamic militants on Web sites warning El Salvador's conservative, pro-U.S. government that it will pay dearly unless it pulls its forces out of Iraq for good. Earlier this week, one group gave El Salvador 20 days to abandon the Iraq coalition or face the consequences. "This is the last chance after which there will not be any more statements, only bloodshed," said the warning issued by Mohammed Atta Brigades -- al Qaeda of Jihad. Other Web site messages warned of attacks inside El Salvador and pledged to make Iraq a "hell" for the arriving troops. El Salvador's President Tony Saca responded by ordering tighter security at key installations inside the Central American nation but he insisted he would not back down. El Salvador's soldiers have been posted in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf, a scene of fierce fighting in recent days. Although they do not have a front-line role, they have come under repeated attack. One soldier was killed and 12 were wounded in April. Leaders of the main opposition party had already criticized the deployment in Iraq and they said this week that Saca would be to blame if Islamic militants strike against the nation. "It is a serious error to keep sending Salvadoran troops to Iraq ... This government is responsible if anything happens to any citizen," said Salvador Sanchez of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, which fought a 12-year civil war against U.S.-backed governments before signing peace accords in 1992 and becoming a political party.
Posted by: Steve 2004-08-19 |
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