The military said the operations aimed to reclaim the cities
from insurgents...and "to free the local citizens from the
terrorists' campaign of murder and intimidation of innocent
women, children and men."
Flames from U.S. air strikes illuminated the skylines of the
three cities just before dawn on Tuesday, according to the
Associated Press.
Air strikes, to extract terrorists from a civilian population?
Right.
Mohammed Hadithi, the head of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society
in Haditha, charged the U.S. troops violated the rights of
residents during the assault. The Marines "neglected the
humanitarian standards," he said. "If the American people come
and see the army they are proud of doing that to unarmed women
and children, they would have disowned the army because those
they are looking for have escaped hours before they came and
attacked."
His accusation could not independently verified.
Why, because the reporters couldn't leave their tanks?
rkm
--------------------------------------------------------
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/04/AR2005100400551.html
washingtonpost.com
U.S. Launches Another Major Assault in Western Iraq
By Jackie Spinner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 4, 2005; 11:03 AM
BAGHDAD, Oct. 4 -- The U.S. military Tuesday launched a second
major assault in less than a week on cities in western Iraq in
a hunt for foreign fighters whose attacks have increased in
the weeks leading up to the Oct. 15 national referendum on a
new Iraqi constitution.
About 2,500 U.S. troops and hundreds of Iraqi soldiers took
part in the operation, codenamed River Gate, the military said
in statements. The offensive centered on Haditha, Haqlaniyah
and Barwana, Sunni cities located in the Euphrates River
valley in western Anbar province. Meanwhile, Operation Iron
Fist, another assault launched four days ago in the Qaimregion
of Anbar province near the Iraqi-Syrian border continued, as
troops searched for fighters connected to al Qaeda in Iraq who
freely roamed the streets of Sadah and surrounding towns.
The U.S. military said three soldiers and a Marine died in
combat actions on Monday. Three soldiers assigned to a Marine
combat team were killed by an improvised explosive device
(IED) in two separate attacks in Haqlaniyah. A Marine died
from an IED in Karabilah in the operation near the Syrian
border, according to the military.
The military said the operations aimed to reclaim the cities
from insurgents and cut off routes used to smuggle weapons and
militants to cities in other parts of Iraq. In announcing the
launch of Operation River Gate on Tuesday, the military said
the goal was to deny al Qaeda in Iraq the ability to operate
in the three river cities and "to free the local citizens from
the terrorists' campaign of murder and intimidation of
innocent women, children and men."
Haditha, a city of 75,000 residents, is a key crossroads for
al Qaeda in Iraq's smuggling activities from the Syrian
border, the military said. Once in Haditha, smugglers can go
north to Mosul or continue to Ramadi, Fallujah and Baghdad.
Most of the residents are farmers, fishermen and former
members of the Iraqi Army under the ousted government of
Saddam Hussein.
Flames from U.S. air strikes illuminated the skylines of the
three cities just before dawn on Tuesday, according to the
Associated Press. Bridges across the Euphrates River between
Haqlaniyah and Haditha were bombed to prevent insurgents from
using them, the wire service reported.
Saad Mahdi Amiri, an Iraqi Army lieutenant who was among the
forces engaged in the assault, said most of the neighborhoods
of all three cities were under control of the joint forces by
late afternoon. He said 86 suspects were detained. Two large
weapons caches were discovered in Haqlaniyah, Amiri said.
"The armed men are the remnants of al Qaeda who escaped from
Qaim to these areas, and we are chasing them here."
Ibrahim Abdul Karim, 50, a teacher and resident of Haditha,
said the U.S. forces broke into his house and searched all of
the occupants. He said they tested their hands for explosives.
"The Marines did not give us any time to allow the women to
put on the hajib [head scarf] and go out with proper clothes,"
he said. "They broke into the house like Holako," he said,
referring to a famous Mongolian barbarian who invaded the Arab
homeland and burned Baghdad centuries ago.
Mohammed Hadithi, the head of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society
in Haditha, charged the U.S. troops violated the rights of
residents during the assault. The Marines "neglected the
humanitarian standards," he said. "If the American people come
and see the army they are proud of doing that to unarmed women
and children, they would have disowned the army because those
they are looking for have escaped hours before they came and
attacked."
His accusation could not independently verified.
At Haditha Hospital, Dr. Abdul Qaider Obaidi, said the Marines
also broke into the hospital and searched the facility,
arresting the director, Waleed Hadeethi and his assistant.
Obaidi said the Marines accused the two men of treating al
Qaeda fighters. "They are using the hospital as a base for the
combat operations," he added. Obaidi said he had no
information about civilian casualties.
The American military said militants attacked the Haditha
Hospital earlier this year with a suicide car bomb. More than
half of the hospital was destroyed in the attack. Insurgents
established fortified firing positions in the hospital and
used patients and staff as human shields, the military said in
a statement. "They attacked Marines from the hospital and
later retreated from the Marine counterattack," according to
the statement.
A statement posted on the Wihda mosque in Hit in Anbar that
claimed to be from al Qaeda in Iraq denied that dozens of the
organization's members have been killed in the assaults. The
U.S. military had announced that 1,941 fighters have been
killed.
The statement disputed that. "This is a dirty game just to
increase the spirits of their soldiers and that only 20 were
killed," it read.
Meanwhile in Baghdad on Tuesday, a suicide car bomber drove a
vehicle into a checkpoint at the perimeter of the fortified
Green Zone that houses the U.S. Embassy and the transitional
Iraqi government. Initial reports from witnesses said 10
people were killed. Iraqi security forces blocked access to
the area for several hours.
The checkpoint is the entry point used by Iraqi and Western
journalists and by Iraqi civilians who work inside. Vehicular
access to the checkpoint is supposed to be restricted, but
Iraqi security forces often allow drivers in who merely wave
pre-paid telephone cards as identification.
Witnesses said the bomber sped straight toward the concrete
barriers and barbed wire at the checkpoint, instead of a
mandatory U-turn required by the presence of the barriers.
Iraqi security forces have taken over primary protection of
the checkpoint in recent days. They have shot randomly at cars
in the area, causing passers-by to run for cover.
Elsewhere in Iraq, the police chief of Mussayyib survived an
assassination attempt in the town, 40 miles south of Baghdad,
said Capt. Muthanna Ahmed, the press officer of the Babil
police command. Ahmed said five of the chief's body guards
were wounded, one seriously. Iraqi security forces are
frequently targeted by insurgents.
One Iraqi soldier was killed and two others were wounded when
a roadside bomb exploded at an Iraqi army convoy in the
northern city of Kirkuk, said Maj. Gen. Anwar Hama Ameen,
commander of the second brigade.
Two senior police officers were also killed Monday night when
armed men opened fire on their vehicle in central part of the
city, said Col. Adel Zain Al Abideen of the Kirkuk police.
Armed men killed a captain of the emergency police, Zain Al
Abideen said.
Special correspondents Bassam Sebti in Baghdad and Saad Sarhan
in Najaf contributed to this report.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
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