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| Iraq |
| Iraqi (imported) 'militants' held after raid |
| 2004-09-17 |
| US and Iraqi forces have arrested 63 suspected militants during a major security operation in central Baghdad. Amid gun battles, they sealed off the Haifa Street area in response to mortar attacks on nearby Iraqi ministries and the US and British embassies. Iraqi police say those held include Syrians, Lebanese and Egyptians. During the operation, a car packed with explosives rammed a police convoy in the Rashid Street district, killing three policemen and injuring 37 people. Earlier, American troops foiled another attack when they shot at a car containing at least one suicide bomber, who drove at their checkpoint near the River Tigris. There was also violence in the restive city of Falluja, west of Baghdad, where at least three people were killed in a new US air strike on Friday. The US military described it as "another successful precision strike" on "foreign terrorists" led by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The US had previously said it killed up to 60 militants in air attacks aimed at Mr Zarqawi and his followers in and around Falluja. The health ministry said 44 people had been killed. The US military announced on Friday that another of its soldiers had been killed during "security and stability operations" in the Falluja area. Witnesses near Rashid Street said an attacker drove up to a convoy of six police vehicles before blowing up his car at about 1230 local time (0830 GMT). A large crater was gouged in the road and US troops and Iraqi police tried to clear the area, as ambulances rushed to treat the wounded. "The suicide bomber (Iranian?) was driving a Chevrolet Malibu. He smashed his car against the police vehicle," interior ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul Rahman was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. Correspondents say the Rashid Street area of Baghdad is usually teeming with shoppers, but is traditionally less crowded on a Friday, the first day of the weekend in Iraq. The earlier car-bomb blast came as suspected suicide attackers drove towards a security checkpoint near the Tigris river that flows through the heart of Baghdad. Reports say the car blew up when it was fired on. In the southern city of Basra, one British soldier was injured during clashes with fighters loyal to militant Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr. (Terrorism located near the Iranian border most likely was exported from Iran to create further chaos for the oil based Iraqi economy, which of course makes terrorist promoting Iran lots of oil $$$$$$$, since Iraqi oil exports are viewed as ’unstable’ and Iran’s crude continues flowing to overseas customers.. British troops later raided Mr Sadr’s office in the city. "During their search of the building, a large quantity of weapons and explosives were found," said a British military spokesman. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |