| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| US reinforcements in Umm Qasr and new raid on Baghdad |
| 2003-03-23 |
| Aljazeera correspondent in Baghdad said that at least several explosions have struck Iraqi cities today, at noon, while American and British forces continued its raids on the city. US B52 bombers shortly took off from Fairford air base in southwestern England to carry out a new raid on Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraqi forces launched an attack on Umm Qasr, which American and British forces sought to control, Kuwaiti officials reported some American military sources as saying that if the Iraqi attack continued " it would be resisted by aircrafts". Umm Qasr port, facing a gulf channel, is a strategic and important point. Al Sahaf declared in a press conference that Americans transported a big number of tanks from Nasiriya towards Umm Qasr to beef up forces there, yet, it was resisted by Iraqi forces, which burned four tanks, killed and captured a number of American soldiers, while "others escaped". He indicated a shooting down of a fighter jet south Nasiriya . He added that resistance confronted an American unloading operation in Al Gabaish, AL-Ahwar, in Nasiriya . He reported death and detention of some American soldiers. Damages to the invader troops Meanwhile, Iraqi Information Minister, Muhammad Sa'id Al-Sahaaf, said that Iraqis have shot down five of the enemy fighter jets together with two helicopters. Four of them were shot down above Baghdad while the fifth was dropped over Al-Basra, south Iraq, Iraqi military spokesman, general, Hazem Al Rawy said . He added that two helicopters were shot down in Mosul, north and Al-Samawa . He did not say when they were shot down. Taha Yasin Ramadan On the other hand, Iraqi vice-president, Taha Yasin Ramadan, as he first appeared since news of his assassination at the beginning of the invasion, said that Iraqis captured American soldiers during resistance in Souk al Shuyukh city, in Nasiriya. The Minister mentioned nothing of their number, yet, he assured that Iraqi television would soon show their photos, together with tanks, American military vehicles, destroyed by the Iraqis. Ramadan praised Iraqi resistance in Umm Qasr which American and British forces sought to control four days ago. He assured that Umm Qasr was not ready for fighting, since it is located in the DMZ, "so what about other armed regions, ready to fight years ago". I tried to fix the Arabglish phrases here but I have no idea how to make that one any better. All your base are belong to us. American Central Command in Al Sayliyah base in Doha denied Iraqi declarations concerning soldiers' capture and aircrafts shooting down. In the same context, Iraqi TV reported that remains of an Israeli-made missile were found in Baghdad as was fired by the Americans over the Iraqi capital. The Iraqi television said that the Iraqis found a missile on which " Jerusalem" is written, indicating to a " the Zionist American conspiracy " against Iraq . Ah, yes, those Zionists... always a convenient target for blame. Bombardment of Tekrit and Mosul In previous developments, Iraqi television said that four persons were killed in the American-British bombardment of Tikrit city, birthplace of Iraqi president. Saddam Hussein . The second bombardment, since last Friday, aimed at several sites, including Tikrit museum, that was totally bombed as Iraqi vice-president said . Probably going after some more baby-milk factories. Iraqi soldiers during a parade in Tikrit ( Archives ) On the other hand, eyewitnesses in Mousel, in northern Iraq, reported two explosions near the city. On the other hand, Aljazeera correspondent there reported a missile and air bombardment on Mosul. This took place shortly after a bombardment of the city surroundings. The correspondent said that many missiles fell on the city, before safety sirens were heard. Meanwhile, a Jordanian governmental source declared that four Jordanian students were killed in Mosul bombardment, after a missile exploded beside their car. Aljazeera correspondent in Alsulimania, in northern Iraq, reported that American bombers have bombarded again Khormal area near Iranian-Iraqi borders in north Iraq, where members of Islamic group and Ansar Al Islam are positioned. The area has been intensively bombed yesterday, morning, killing 57 persons of both groups. |
| Posted by:Swimmy |
| #2 Al-Jazeera (means "Mesopotamia"???). Can't get a handle on these guys. But interesting nevertheless. |
| Posted by: RW 2003-03-23 23:29:45 |
| #1 I got this off the Al-Jazeera website. Thought it would be interesting to read their spin on the latest news. I misused a translator to obtain this and only "fixed" the really obvious stuff. Still, I think it's interesting and I always wanted to contribute something here. Hope I did it all right! |
| Posted by: Swimmy 2003-03-23 23:11:08 |