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Autor: "G.Lange" (2004-11-21 12:30:00)
* "Pflicht des Widerstands"
* IAMS Backs Iraqi Resistance, Opposes Killing Civilians
* Widerstand erfaßt Baghdad
* Fighters attack US-led forces across Iraq
* Fighting rages in Baghdad
* Rotes Kreuz wird deutlich
* Fallujah captives: Saddam set up insurgency
cells in 2001
* Iraqi Resistance Report
for events of Saturday, 20 September 2004
* Iraqi Resistance Report
for 19 November 2004.
* Falluja in Pictures 19/11/2004
http://fallujapictures.blogspot.com/
"Pflicht des Widerstands"
21.11.2004
Wie IslamOnline am Samstag berichtete, hat die International
Association of Muslim Scholars (IAMS, Internationale Vereinigung
Muslimischer Gelehrter) erklärt, daß der Widerstand gegen die
Besatzungstruppen im Irak für alle dazu tauglichen Muslime inner-
halb und außerhalb des Iraks eine "Pflicht" ist.
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2004-11/20/article02.shtml
"Der IAMS betont und unterstreicht kraft seines Amtes, daß die
Unterstützung des irakischen Volkes bei seinem harten Kampf gegen
die [US-] Besatzung eine Pflicht für jeden dazu fähigen Muslim
inner- und außerhalb des Iraks ist", so der IAMS in der
Abschluß-
erklärung des zweitägigen Treffens des IAMS in der libanesischen
Hauptstadt Beirut.
In der Erklärung wurden die "edlen Widerstandskämpfer"
aber auch
aufgefordert, sich bei ihrem Kampf an die Regeln der Shariah
zu halten. So wurden sie aufgefordert, weder Frauen, Kinder oder
alte Menschen anzugreifen, auch wenn sie Bürger der den Irak
besetzenden Länder sind, solange sie sich nicht aktiv an Kampf-
handlungen beteiligen.
"Und wenn sie gefangengenommen werden, müssen sie gut behandelt
werden und ein gerechtes Verfahren bekommen. Aber es ist nicht
gestattet, Geiseln zu nehmen und zu drohen, sie zu töten, um ein
baldiges Ende zu erreichen", so die Erklärung.
Auch sei es Muslimen nicht erlaubt, die Besatzer in irgendeiner
Weise auf Kosten des irakischen Volkes und seines Widerstandes zu
unterstützen, "weil dies wie eine Ermunterung der Besatzer
wäre,
ihre Aggressionen gegen das irakische Volk weiterzuverfolgen."
Der Einfluß dieses Aufrufs des IAMS ist nicht zu unterschätzen.
Im IAMS sind 200 hochrangige sowohl sunnitische als shiitische
Gelehrte aus allen Teilen der Welt organisiert, so daß die
Erklärungen der Organisation ein beträchtliches Gewicht haben.
http://www.freace.de/artikel/200411/211104a.html
* * *
IAMS Backs Iraqi Resistance, Opposes Killing Civilians
By Ayman Al-Masri, IOL Correspondent
BEIRUT, November 20 (IslamOnline.net) - The International Association
of Muslim Scholars (IAMS) ruled that resisting occupation troops in
Iraq is a "duty" on able Muslims in and outside the war-torn
country
and that aiding the occupier is impermissible.
"The IAMS ex officio underlines and underscores that helping the
Iraqi people in their uphill struggle against the (US) occupation
is a duty on every able Muslim in and outside Iraq," the pan-Muslim
body said in a statement Friday, November 19.
Concluding a two-day meeting in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, the
Dublin-based body said this kind of jihad does not necessitate a
central command to organize military operations, but willing Muslims
can do it on their own.
It also urged the "noble resistance fighters" to stick to Shari`ah
rules in their praiseworthy resistance.
"Collaborators"
The IAMS, which brings together 200 Muslim scholars from the four
corners of the world, further said it is not permissible for any
Muslim to support the occupiers at the expense of the Iraqi people
and their resistance.
"Because it would be like encouraging the occupiers to pursue their
aggressions against the Iraqi people," said the statement, read by
IAMS Secretary General Mohammad Salim Al-Awa.
The pan-Muslim body also exhorted Iraqis forced, by necessity, to
join the ranks of US-trained Iraqi and police forces to be careful
in dealing with their fellow citizens and not to harm them in any
way.
It, meanwhile, urged resistance fighters not to harm Iraqi policemen
or soldiers as long as they do not support the enemy.
A cohort of prominent Saudi scholars have defended resistance against
the occupation forces in Iraq as a legitimate right, prohibiting
cooperation with the occupiers and collaboration against resistance
groups.
Civilians
On the indiscriminate attacks that claim the lives of innocent
civilians, the IAMS asked resistance fighters not to target
women, children and the elderly even if they were of the occupiers
nationalities provided that they were not involved in hostilities.
"And if they are taken prisoner, they should be treated well and
put on a fair trial. But it is not permissible to hold hostages
and threaten to kill them to achieve a certain end," said the
statement.
The IAMS had vigorously denounced the kidnapping and killing of
civilians as an aggression against others, pressing for the swift
release of all civilian hostages in Iraq.
Islam does not permit aggression against innocent people, whether
the aggression is against life, property, or honor, and this ruling
applies to everyone, regardless of post, status and prestige.
The IAMS additionally said Iraqi resistance should be mindful
of "queues of enemies who want to blemish the image of Islam
by carrying out deadly operations in the name of resistance".
"Those handful of groups could very likely be linked to Zionist
and foreign intelligence services."
The pan-Muslim body pressed the occupation troops to pull out of
Iraq and hand over power to an international organization that
would supervise free and fair elections, paving the way for full
sovereignty.
Supporting Palestine, Sudan
The IAMS also exhorted all Muslims to support the admirable second
Palestinian Intifada, urging all Palestinian factions to act in
unison to live up to daunting challenges ahead.
It called on the warring parties in Darfur, west of Sudan, to put
into effect its peace initiative, which calls for a conference
bringing together Sudanese people from different walks of life to
resolve all pending and sticking disputes and turn a new leaf.
An IAMS delegation visited Darfur in September at a request from
the Sudanese government to mediate between Khartoum and the two
rebel groups in the region.
IAMS President Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi said before the visit that
it was incumbent upon Muslims to mediate between warring Muslim
parties to turn off bloodshed, especially that some foreign
powers were using the conflict as a pretext to intervene in Muslim
countries.
On Afghanistan, the IAMS statement warned that drug mafias were
controlling the natural resources of this country, calling on
Muslims to help the Afghan people out of their current limbo.
The UNs annual opium survey revealed that three years after the
massive US-led invasion, Afghanistan was still facing the threat
of being a corrupt "narco-state" after the opium production rose
by two thirds this year.
The IAMS repeated calls on the Arab and Muslim governments to
overhaul their political, economic and social systems, protect
their Islamic and Arab identities and resist foreign dictations.
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2004-11/20/article02.shtml
* * *
Widerstand erfaßt Baghdad
20.11.2004
Einem Al-Jazeera-Bericht aber auch einem Artikel der New York
Times zufolge ist es am Samstag in mehreren Städten im Irak,
insbesondere auch in der Hauptstadt Baghdad, zu schweren Kämpfen
gekommen.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B44C2164-6E22-448E-87BD-
1BE6017D4DF0.htm
Der starke Anstieg der Angriffe von Widerstandskämpfern auf US-
Soldaten in Baghdad dürfte dabei zum großen Teil auf das von US-
Soldaten in der größten sunnitischen Moschee der Stadt
verübte
Massaker zurückzuführen sein.
Insbesondere im Stadtteil Azamiyah, in dem sich auch die Moschee
Abu Hanifa steht, kam es dabei tagsüber zu offenen Kämpfen
zwischen US-Soldaten und Widerstandskämpfern. Einem AP-Bericht
zufolge war dort ein brennender Humvee des US-Militärs zu sehen
in dessen Innern sich AP-Filmaufnahmen zufolge offenbar noch
der Körper des Fahrers befand. "Etliche" weitere gepanzerte
US-Fahrzeuge brannten demnach ebenfalls. Im gleichen Stadtteil
wurde auch bei Tagesanbruch eine Polizeistation angegriffen.
Dabei wurde ein Polizist getötet.
Am frühen Samstagmorgen ist nach US-Angaben ein weiterer US-Soldat
getötet worden, als seine Patrouille in ein "Trommelfeuer von
Schußwaffen, Panzerfäusten und Bomben" kam. 9 weitere
Soldaten
wurden hier verletzt.
Im Stadtteil Khadra explodierte eine Bombe als eine US-Patrouille
vorbeifuhr. Hier wurden nach Aussage des Polizisten Ali Hussein
zwei US-Soldaten verletzt.
Gegen Mittag explodierte eine Autobombe an einer Kreuzung der
Saadoun-Straße, die sich gegen einen Konvoi eines "privaten
Sicherheitsunternehmens" - also Söldner - richtete.
Im Westen der Stadt wurden 4 Mitarbeiter des "Ministeriums"
für
Bauwesen, darunter eine leitende Beraterin, erschossen.
In einer anderen Meldung berichtete Al-Jazeera, daß es auch in
den Stadtteilen al-Gazaliya, al-Amariya, auf dem Antar-Platz
und in der Haifa-Straße zu Kämpfen gekommen ist.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C1947097-2832-4F76-8789-
30C16EA7A043.htm
Der Journalist Ziad al-Samarrai sagte gegenüber Al-Jazeera, daß
sich die Kämpfe auf andere Stadtteile, darunter auch al-Dura,
ausweiten.
Auch in Ramadi, Mosul sowie Fallujah kam es erneut zu schweren
Kämpfen.
Insbesondere die Zunahme der Gewalt in der irakischen Hauptstadt
kann als klares Indiz dafür gewertet werden, daß den US-Besatzern
die Kontrolle über das Land mehr und mehr entgleitet. Dies könnte
auch eine mögliche Erklärung für die massive Provokation in
der
Moschee Abu Hanifa sein.
http://www.freace.de/artikel/200411/201104b.html
* * *
Fighters attack US-led forces across Iraq
Fighters opposed to the US-backed government in Iraq have attacked
Iraqi and US forces in Baghdad in daylight, with violence continuing
to rage across the country.
A dawn assault with rocket-propelled grenades on a police station
in the mainly Sunni district of Adhamiya on Saturday killed at
least three officers - a day after Iraqs US-backed National Guard
raided a historic mosque.
US tanks and helicopters helped beat off fighters after a three-hour
battle near the Abu Hanifa mosque, where four worshippers were killed
and 17 arrested on Friday.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a US soldier was killed and nine wounded when
their patrol was caught in an ambush, the US military said.
Also in the capital, armed men assassinated a senior adviser to
Iraqs ministry of public works along with three of her employees
in an attack on their car on Saturday, a ministry spokesman said.
More violence
Jasim Muhammad said Amal Abd al-Hamid al-Mamalji was killed with
her driver, secretary and a security guard. The spokesman said
the gunmen blocked Mamaljis car as she drove to work and opened
fire.
Separately, in the western Amriya district, fighters in cars opened
fire on an Iraqi National Guard unit. A guard at the scene said
seven of the assailants were killed and seven passers-by wounded.
An all-out offensive by more than 10,000 US troops on the Sunni
city of Falluja, just west of Baghdad, over the past two weeks
has killed, by US estimates, about 1200 fighters.
Intended to quell fighters before an election due in late January,
it has been accompanied by scattered violence throughout the Sunni
heartlands north and west of the capital.
US official backtracks
A senior US general, backtracking somewhat on confidence expressed
by other officers, acknowledged it was "too early to say ... that
the backbone of the insurgency is broken".
Lieutenant-General Lance Smith, deputy US commander in the region
that includes Iraq, added that his command may ask for 3000 to 5000
more troops. Confirming plans outlined some weeks ago, he said this
would be mainly by delaying the scheduled departure of some soldiers,
to improve election security.
On Thursday, Lieutenant-General John Sattler, commander of the 1st
Marine Expeditionary Force at Falluja, had said he felt the all-
out assault on the city had "broken the back of the insurgency".
Meanwhile, US forces have begun restoring basic services and clearing
Falluja of explosives but have set no date for civilians to return to
the city, an officer said on Saturday.
"This will be driven by events, not dates. We have to restore basic
services such as water and electricity first," Major Francis Piccoli
said. "We are also going from house to house to clear out any
insurgents and weapons."
The International Committee of the Red Cross has criticised the
"utter contempt" for humanity shown by all sides in Iraq amid
the fierce fighting for control of Falluja.
Violence in north
In Ramadi, the scene of frequent clashes just west of Falluja,
US forces sealed off roads into the city early on Saturday and
called on people through loudspeakers to hand over "terrorists".
Helicopters flew overhead and Americans blocked access in or out
of the majority Sunni city as troops searched buildings south of
the centre.
In Mosul, nine Iraqi soldiers were feared executed on Saturday as
US and Iraqi troops fought fighters in the city.
Senior Iraqi and US military sources said they probably belonged
to an Iraqi army unit that had joined US troops for a massive
onslaught against fighters in the countrys third-largest city.
In another development, a Polish woman freed by kidnappers in Iraq
and flown to Warsaw said she was treated well, raising hopes for
other foreign captives after a week in which the only other woman
held captive, British aid worker Margaret Hassan, was thought to
have been killed.
Aljazeera + Agencies
Saturday 20 November 2004 3:46 PM GMT
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B44C2164-6E22-448E-87BD-
1BE6017D4DF0.htm
* * *
Fighting rages in Baghdad
Three Iraqi policemen have been killed in heavy fighting out between
armed fighters and Iraqi National Guards supported by US troops in
western Baghdad.
Columns of thick black smoke rose above the area in the neighbourhood
of al-Aadhamiya and gunfire and explosions echoed over the rooftops
on Saturday.
US Apache helicopters buzzed overhead.
Circumstances surrounding the deaths of the policemen remain unclear,
but they are thought to have been involved in a firefight with armed
groups who attacked their station in the al-Aadhamiya district of
the city.
An Iraqi journalist in the area, Ziad Badruldin, told Aljazeera that
he saw the al-Aadhamiya police station up in flames.
Badruldin, however, also said there are reports that the three were
killed when their car was set ablaze near the al-Aadhamiya bridge.
Clashes, the reporter said, had also occurred in Antar Square.
Other confrontations occurred in al-Gazaliya, al-Amariya and
Haifa Street.
Badruldin said he saw destroyed US vehicles near the Abu Hanifa
mosque.
Aljazeera aired video of a US armoured vehicle, believed to be a
Hummer, destroyed by armed fighters in the clashes. Its occupants
are believed to have been killed, but there has been no comment
from US military authorities on the incident.
Fighting spreads
Another Iraqi journalist Ziad al-Samarrai told Aljazeera that fierce
clashes were spreading to other districts of the city including al-
Dura.
"Fighters have pushed their way to streets and roads and are
using rocket-propelled grenade launchers. US forces responded
with artillery fire."
The fighting came a day after Iraqi troops backed by US soldiers
raided a major mosque in al-Aadhamiya and clashed with worshippers.
At least four people were killed in the raid on the Abu Hanifa
mosque and nine wounded, the Association of Muslim scholars and
witnesses said.
Blasts
In related incidents, two blasts rocked Baghdad on Saturday
morning.
A large plume of grey smoke could be seen rising from the area
near the health ministry, after the first explosion occurred
just before 8:00am (0455 GMT).
It was unknown what caused the explosion.
A second explosion erupted in the center of Baghdad at around
12:40pm (0940 GMT), according to an AFP correspondent.
The cause of the blast was unknown.
The explosions came a day after a car bomb and clashes in a raid
on the Abu Hanifa mosque in the capital killed at least five
people, including an Iraqi policeman. Nine more Iraqis died in
other attacks across the shattered country.
Official killed
Aljazeera has also learned that an unknown armed group shot and
killed an advisor to the interim Iraqi Ministry of Works and
Public Affairs on Saturday in Baghdad.
Dr Amal Abd al-Hamid, her secretary, driver and bodyguard were
all killed in the attack in the al-Qadisiyah neighbourhood.
Also on Saturday, five students were detained by Iraqi police
at the Technology University of Baghdad. The arrest came in
the wake of a demonstration at the university which called for
an end to the "massacres and atrocities" committed in Falluja.
Ramadi
US troops blocked roads into Ramadi on Saturday and urged residents
through loudspeakers in the south of the Iraqi city to stay in
their homes and hand over "terrorists", local witnesses said.
They said US forces were not allowing anyone to enter or leave
Ramadi, 110km west of Baghdad, and were searching buildings in
southern neighbourhoods while helicopters circled overhead.
Anti-American fighters have clashed daily with US-led troops in
Ramadi since they launched a full-scale offensive on the nearby
city of Falluja, just to the east, about 12 days ago.
Aljazeera + Agencies
Saturday 20 November 2004 9:25 AM GMT
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C1947097-2832-4F76-8789-
30C16EA7A043.htm
* * *
Rotes Kreuz wird deutlich
20.11.2004
In einer am Freitag vom Internationalen Komitee des Roten Kreuzes
veröffentlichten Erklärung ist dessen Direktor für
Einsätze Pierre
Krähenbühl in seiner Kritik der Vorgehensweise des US-Militärs
im
Irak ungewöhnlich deutlich geworden.
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/66VK3T?OpenDocument
"Mit dem Fortschreiten der Kampfhandlungen in Fallujah und anderswo
scheint jeder Tag eine weitere Mißachtung der fundamentalsten Grund-
sätze der Menschlichkeit zu bringen: der Verpflichtung, das Leben
und die Würde der Menschen zu schützen", so
Krähenbühl.
Krähenbühl zeigte sich derart empört, obwohl er offenbar die
Medienberichte nur oberflächlich verfolgt. So spricht er in
seiner Erklärung von nur einem von US-Soldaten erschossenen
Verwundeten, obwohl es tatsächlich Berichte über fünf solche
Fälle gibt. Auch die Verantwortlichkeit für die Ermordung der
Leiterin der Hilfsorganisation CARE, Margaret Hassan, kann
kaum als so eindeutig angesehen werden, wie er offenbar glaubt.
Bisher hat sich keine irakische Gruppierung zu dem Mord bekannt.
Vielmehr hatten zuvor zahlreiche irakische Organisationen -
selbst die Gruppe um Abu Musab al-Zarqawi hat sich dem ange-
schlossen - ihre umgehende Freilassung gefordert.
"In dieser Woche war es die Tötung eines verwundeten Kämpfers
und noch einer weiteren Geisel - Margaret Hassan - die die Welt
schockierten. Wie jeder andere bewaffnete Konflikt ist auch
dieser an Grenzen gebunden und diese müssen zu jedem Zeitpunkt
respektiert werden", schrieb Krähenbühl.
"Für die an diesem Konflikt beteiligten Parteien ist die Befolgung
des internationalen humanitären Rechts eine Verpflichtung, keine
Möglichkeit. Es gibt ein absolutes Verbot der Tötung von Menschen,
die keine aktive Rolle bei den Kampfhandlungen einnehmen oder
diese beendet haben. Es ist ebenso verboten, sie zu foltern oder sie
jeglicher Form unmenschlicher, entwürdigender oder erniedrigender
Behandlung zu unterziehen. Darüberhinaus müssen die an dem Konflikt
beteiligten Parteien den Verwundeten - Freund wie Feind - angemes-
sene medizinische Versorgung auf dem Schlachtfeld zur Verfügung
stellen oder es zulassen, daß sie an einen anderen Ort zur Behand-
lung gebracht werden. Sie müssen alle Möglichkeiten
ausschöpfen,
um es von den Kämpfen eingeschlossenen Zivilisten zu ermöglichen,
die Grundlagen des Überlebens wie Nahrung, Wasser und medizinische
Versorgung zu erlangen", so Krähenbühl in der Erklärung.
Insbesondere mit diesen Sätzen wendet er sich dabei überdeutlich
gegen die von US-Soldaten begangenen Kriegsverbrechen.
"Die Geiselnahme, gleichgültig ob von Irakern oder Ausländern,
ist
unter allen Umständen verboten. Wenn diese Regeln oder irgendwelche
anderen anzuwendenden Regeln des internationalen humanitären Rechts
verletzt werden, müssen die verantwortlichen Personen für ihre
Handlungen zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden", forderte
Krähenbühl.
"Bedauerlicherweise haben die letzten Ereignisse erneut gezeigt,
wie schwierig es für neutrale, unabhängige und unparteiische
Hilfsorganisationen geworden ist, den Opfern des Konflikts im
Irak zu helfen und sie zu schützen. Das Internationale Komitee
des Roten Kreuzes appelliert ein weiteres Mal, daß alles
mögliche getan wird, um solchen Organisationen zu erlauben, den
tausenden leidenden Irakern zu helfen", schrieb er.
Hier verzichtete Krähenbühl allerdings erneut darauf, die Verant-
wortlichen für diese Probleme beim Namen zu nennen. So hat das
US-Militär Hilfskonvois des Roten Halbmonds, der arabischen
Schwesterorganisation des Roten Kreuzes, aktiv daran gehindert,
die Stadt zu betreten.
Trotz dieser Zurückhaltung hinsichtlich namentlicher Kritik an
den USA ist diese Erklärung in ihrer Direktheit allerdings trotzdem
bemerkenswert.
http://www.freace.de/artikel/200411/201104a.html
* * *
Fallujah captives: Saddam set up insurgency cells in 2001
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, November 19, 2004
BAGHDAD - Insurgents captured in Fallujah have told Iraqi military
interrogators that most of those fighting in Fallujah were former
security officers for the regime of Saddam Hussein.
The insurgents said Saddam organized special operations units,
starting in 2001, to counter any foreign invasion in Iraq. Most
of those units, the insurgents said, are still active in the
Sunni Triangle.
Officials said the Sunni insurgency was being directed from Syria.
They said Saddam loyalists were receiving funding and orders from
senior aides of the former Saddam regime based in Damascus, including
ex-Vice President Izzet Ibrahim Al Douri.
Iraqi Interior Minister Faleh Hassan Al Naqib said his government
and the U.S.-led coalition faced a revolt throughout the Sunni
Triangle, Middle East Newsline reported. Al Naqib said the revolt
was being directed by a unified command and control network led
by Saddam loyalists. He said the insurgents sought to prevent or
disrupt national elections scheduled for Jan. 27.
"The battle for Fallujah has become the test for Saddam loyalists,"
an Iraqi official said. "Fallujah was the center of the terrorism
and the symbol of the terrorists."
The uprising in the Sunni Triangle has included insurgents who had
been based in Fallujah. Officials said Sunni insurgents, including
Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi, and up to 2,000 fighters left Fallujah over
the last two months to launch a revolt in other cities.
At a news conference in Baghdad, on Nov. 16, Al Naqib said the great
majority of insurgency casualties in Fallujah were Iraqi nationals.
He said only 24 foreigners were found dead among the more than 1,250
reported killed in 10 days of fighting in Fallujah.
Al Naqib identified Mohammed Yunus Ahmad as the key liasion and
coordinator between Saddam loyalists in Syria and Iraqi insurgents.
Ahmad had been a minister and a senior official in Iraqs ruling
Baath Party.
Al Naqib also said Saddam formed an Islamic insurgency group Jaysh
Mohammed, composed of former special operations officers. The minister
said the leader of the group, identified as Moayad Yassin Ahmed, was
arrested on Nov. 15. Ahmed, also known as Abu Ahmed, was identified as
a former officer in the Iraqi Air Defense Command.
Ahmed was said to have met former Iraqi minister Al Ahmed in Syria
to coordinate the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. Al Naqib said Saddam
established Jaysh Mohammed as the military wing of the Baath Party
in April 2003 after the fall of the regime.
Officials said the Iraqi resistance appears to have changed tactics
and no longer seeks a head-on clash with the U.S. military for
the control of major cities. Instead, Saddam loyalists and foreign
volunteers have launched attacks on police stations and other
facilities meant to intimidate security forces and seize weapons
and material.
"This ultimately is not going to be won in the kinetic sense - in
battle," U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker, told the
House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. "Its going to be won
in having Iraqis taking ownership and investing their own personal
sweat and blood." Iraqs interim government has been bracing for
an insurgency throughout the Sunni Triangle.
Iraqi officials said the U.S.-led invasion of Fallujah has sparked
a revolt in cities throughout the Sunni Triangle. They cited
insurgency campaigns in Baghdad, Baiji, Baqubah, Hadith, Mosul,
Ramadi, Samara and Tikrit.
Copyright © 2004 East West Services, Inc.
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking 13.html
* * *
Iraqi Resistance Report
for events of Saturday, 20 September 2004
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member editorial
board The Free Arab Voice. http://www.freearabvoice.org
Saturday, 20 November 2004.
Fighting in al-Fallujah on Saturday.
In a dispatch posted at 9:30pm Saturday night Mecca time, the
Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in al-Fallujah reported that
fighting between the Resistance and the US attackers raged on
Saturday in the southern neighborhoods of ash-Shuhada, al-Jubayl,
and an-Nuaymiyah, and in the industrial zone. The Resistance
is still holding its own, the correspondent wrote, and Saturdays
fighting was noteworthy for the fact that intermittent - lasting
an hour, then stopping, then resuming and flaring up again and
then stopping again for awhile, before starting again, and so on.
This situation has been a source of optimism for the Resistance.
The correspondent noted that the Resistance uses its weapons
sparingly, firing four mortar rounds at four specific US vehicles,
or one rocket shell for one vehicle - that is when the vehicles
open fire from one direction. If the source of US fire is a
concentration of tanks, the Resistance shoots intensively at the
source of the incoming fire.
On Saturday, the Resistance used a large number of 60mm and 82mm
mortar rounds, as well as C5K rockets. The Resistance thwarted a
US attempt to break into the industrial zone, halting the American
advance and pushing the US forces back to their former positions.
The fighting in the other neighborhoods - ash-Shuhada, al-Jubyal
and an-Nuaymiyah - was a matter of exchanging gunfire. The US
forces there made no attempt to advance.
Fierce fighting broke out in the al-Askari neighborhood in the
eastern part of al-Fallujah, however, meaning that now the Resistance
controls a little more than half of the city. This is what Shaykh
Abdallah al-Jannabi, the Chairman of the Consultative Council of
the Mujahideen of al-Fallujah said when he told the press that the
Resistance controls 60 percent of the city. A leader of one of the
Resistance organizations in al-Jubayl said, "our ranks are holding
up and holding together. We can see the effects of the prayers of
the Muslims for us in these battles."
This is in confirmation of the view that the fighting in al-Fallujah
is an example of urban warfare in which the fortunes of the sides
shift back and forth quickly. This is particularly true since the
US force use weapons that are banned internationally, and which
can change the course of battle at any moment, as took place in the
north of the city. Since the Resistance there was holding its own,
the US forces resorted to the use of internationally prohibited
chemical weapons shifting the balance in their favor.
Mafkarat al-Islams correspondent outside al-Fallujah reported
that the US vehicles ringing al-Fallujah on Saturday stayed firmly
planted in their places - a very important point for the people
of al-Fallujah, since the movement of the vehicles means that the
US forces are embarking on some concerted effort to break into the
city. When the vehicles stay put, however, it means that they will
have a certain lull in the American efforts to drive on their city.
US forces withdrew 250 heavy vehicles from the concentration
around the city during the last four days, sending them off
in the direction of Mosul in the north of the country, where
the Resistance has opened a new front of action against the
occupation forces.
The people of Iraq hope that the Resistance will continue to defy
the American aggressors for another week because that will mean,
according to political observers, the collapse of American power.
Morning battle in al-Ghazaliyah spreads to as-Sakani neighborhood.
At about 9:30am fierce fighting broke out on the highway in the
area of al-Ghazaliyah, southwest of Baghdad. Resistance fighters
fired RPG7 and C5K rockets and BKC automatic weapons destroying
two trucks and a US armored vehicle. Afterwards the fighting
spread, reaching the as-Sakani neighborhood, where two US Humvees
were destroyed along with a Nissan pickup truck belonging to the
puppet "Iraqi national guard." Eleven US troops and three puppet
soldiers were killed. Three Resistance fighters were martyred
and four others wounded.
Attack in ad-Dujayl.
Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 rockets attacked two trucks
loaded with provisions for the US troops in the 14 July area of
ad-Dujayl north of Baghdad. The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent
wrote that the attack that took place at about 11am Saturday
left two trucks destroyed and killed three US troops aboard them.
Resistance keeps up heavy bombardments of US troop concentrations
around al-Fallujah.
Iraqi Resistance forces continued their bombardments of US troop
concentrations around al-Fallujah on Saturday.
First of all, on Friday, Iraqi Resistance forces blasted US troop
concentrations south and north of the city. Resistance fighters
in the "at-Taji Arm" fired more than 40 rockets, including 10
highly
destructive Ababil missiles, and the rest powerful Tariq and Grad
rockets. That bombardment continued into Saturday, when the "at-
Taji Arm" fired more than 21 rockets, of which six were the powerful
Ababil, and the rest Tariqs and Grads.
At 2pm Saturday, Iraqi Resistance forces fired eight rockets and
then fired another eight more shortly before sundown. All of those
missiles were launched from al-Amiriyah.
US troop concentrations in the as-Sakani neighborhood west of al-
Fallujah, in the al-Barradat Field between the old and the new
bridges, at the command point located near the new bridge, as well
as the US concentrations on the southern edges of the city were
all targeted on Saturday.
This has been the third day in which the Resistance has mounted
such a qualitatively new level of operations, in particular making
use of the highly destructive Ababil rockets. On Friday, more
than nine fires could be seen burning in US vehicles south of the
city. These were not the same vehicles that were set ablaze during
the US bombardment of the city during the morning and midday hours.
As-Saqlawiyah residents bury 103 civilian bodies from a small
part of al-Fallujah as Americans tell them to leave the bodies
of Resistance fighters for the dogs to eat.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in al-Fallujah reported Saturday
that the operation to collect and bury the bodies of victims killed
by the US assault on al-Fallujah is still under way. The number of
bodies buried as of yesterday, Friday, was 103, among them were a
number of women and children.
The correspondent wrote in a dispatch posted Saturday at 8:25pm
Mecca time, that the last batch of victims bodies consisted
of 20 corpses, none of which showed signs of being struck by
any sort of weapon or ammunition. Their clothing was also not
torn or burned. The bodies, however, were blackened due to the
Americans use of some internationally banned chemical weapons
with which they bombarded the city.
It appears that US forces used two types of chemical gas, since
the first batch of bodies were swollen and yellowed. The 103
bodies that have been buried so far were all picked up from a
small part of the al-Jawlan neighborhood, an area comprising
about 15 percent of the neighborhood.
US forces refuse to allow the residents of as-Saqlawiyah, who are
actually picking up and loading the bodies, to retrieve the bodies
of Iraqi Resistance fighters. The Americans tell the people to
leave them where thy lie to be eaten by dogs and cats. This is
in contrast to what they do with the bodies of civilians, which
they permit to be loaded up and taken away for burial. About 22
bodies were seen that dogs and cats had been eating from - something
that can easily be discerned from the way that flesh has been
shredded away from faces, hands, forearms, and feet of those bodies.
One such body was found with its legs totally eaten up, leaving
only the bones.
The residents who took part in transporting and burying the bodies
say that the treatment they received from the Americans was good,
but that they were met with derision and jeering by the puppet so-
called "Iraqi national guards" who would laugh and smile and tell
the residents, "pickup your dead! This is the destiny that awaits
you!" The Americans only dealt with them by signaling them to go
in, pick up the bodies, and then leave.
Fierce fighting continues in southern half of al-Fallujah as
Resistance pledges to fight to the last drop of their blood.
Fierce fighting continued Saturday morning in the southern half
of al-Fallujah according to the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent
in the city. In a dispatch posted at 9:30am Saturday morning
Mecca time, the correspondent wrote that the fierce fighting was
still raging in the ash-Shuhada and al-Jubayl neighborhoods and
in the industrial zone - all in the southern part of the city.
Seven unprecedented explosions rocked the area on Friday and at
dawn Saturday, he reported. Four of the blasts shook the city
Friday night. Three more explosions resounded Saturday at dawn.
The correspondent wrote that he was unable to ascertain the cause
of the blasts.
Informed sources thought it likely that the US occupation troops
would use chemical weapons in the southern half of the city, after
their failure to break through Resistance defenses using more
conventional weaponry. The American invaders resorted to the use
of chemical weapons in their attacks on the northern half of the
city in recent days.
Meanwhile US troops have destroyed most of the private cars
that they have found in al-Fallujah, out of fear that they
might be used in martyrdom car bombing missions against their
forces.
In other news, a member of the al-Fallujah Resistance organizations
told the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent that the Resistance would
continue fighting against the occupation to the last drop of their
blood or at least until their ammunition was exausted.
Elsewhere in Iraq ...
Iraq explodes in battle at 6:30am - "zero hour" - as Resistance
launches new strategy of nation-wide coordination.
All parts of Iraq witnessed fighting against the US occupation on
Saturday beginning early in the morning.
Half-past six am was zero hour for the Iraqi Resistance forces.
At that time they launched attacks on US troops and fighting
erupted all over the country. It flared particularly violently
in Baghdad.
These battles marked the launch of a new Resistance strategy based
on the coordination of actions between the Resistance groups in
different parts of Iraq, and the unification of their efforts for
the liberation of the country.
The developments in al-Fallujah are playing a major part in this
new Resistance strategy. Since the beginning of the Battle of al-
Fallujah, the Resistance organizations have striven to coordinate
between themselves to reduce the pressure that the Americans can
bring to bear on al-Fallujah. Several days ago Iraq witnessed an
intifadah uprising whose aim was to break the American siege of
the city. But the results of the uprising exceeded the Resistance
organizations expectations, and they managed to seize control of
several large cities and important centers throughout the country.
These successes did not entail major losses on the part of the
Americans and their stooges, however, as the occupation forces
hunkered down in their bases and camps, refusing to come out,
meaning that the Resistance control of the cities was merely
apparent control.
The Resistance was not satisfied with apparent control, however,
and resolved to draw the US troops into battle in order to inflict
such casualties on them that they would not be able to forget. The
Resistance cut back its attacks over the past four days. Indeed
the last two days - Thursday and Friday - were marked by the lowest
number of attacks launched by the Resistance in the last three
months. This is merely an effort to arouse a false sense of
security in the Americans, however, so that they come out of their
hiding places. This is what happened and the Resistance was waiting
for them at zero hour Saturday morning. As of the writing of this
report (posted on Mafkarat al-Islam at 10pm Saturday Mecca time)
fighting continues to rage in several parts of Iraq.
Baghdad.
Fierce daylong fighting in al-Amiriyah district.
Violent battles raged in the al-Amiriyah area of Baghdad from
9:30am until sunset Saturday. US forces had suffered heavy losses
in the fighting by noon. A Resistance car bomb destroyed two GMC
command cars and two Humvees. Clashes in which Resistance fighters
fired C5K and RPG7 rockets and BKC automatic weapons left two
Bradley armored vehicles and a Humvee destroyed and disabled
another armored vehicle. The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent
reported that 22 US soldiers were killed in the fighting and
that 15 Iraqi civilians also died when US troops opened fire
indiscriminately around the area.
Fierce fighting in al-Azamiyah district.
At 6:30am Saturday Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 and C5K
rockets and BKC automatic weapons attacked US troops and puppet
"national guards" on the main road in the al-Azamiyah district
of Baghdad, destroying two Nissan pickups belonging to the puppet
forces, and three Humvees and two Bradley armored vehicles belonging
to the US troops. The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reported
that 16 US troops and 9 puppet guardsmen were killed.
At 6:30am Saturday Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 rockets,
60mm mortars, and BKC automatic weapons attacked a puppet police
station in the al-Azamiyah district of Baghdad, destroying four
Nissan patrol cars and killing 15 puppet police. Ten Iraqi Resistance
fighters and civilians were killed and others wounded in the
fighting.
At 3:20pm Iraqi Resistance fighters firing RPG7 rockets battled US
troops, destroying a Bradley armored vehicle and disabling another
and killing a reported six US troops.
Kurdish Mossad agent abducted.
Iraqi Resistance forces wounded a Kurdish individual in one of his
legs and then kidnapped him in the al-Bayya district of Baghdad.
The Kurd was working as an agent for the Zionist Mossad secret
police, and was taken to an unknown destination.
Afternoon ambush in al-Ghazaliyah.
Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 rockets attacked two US trucks
in the al-Ghazaliyah area west of Baghdad at about 3:30pm Saturday,
destroying the vehicles and killing two US troops.
Bombing west of Baghdad kills US soldier.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded in the Suwayd area of the ash-
Shurtah neighborhood west of Baghdad as a US Humvee was passing
at exactly 12:30pm Saturday, killing a US soldier and wounding
two others.
Airport Road bombing reportedly kills three US troops.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded on Airport Road in Baghdad as
a US Humvee was passing at about 3pm Saturday, killing three US
soldiers and wounding two others.
Attacks in al-Qadisiyah kill collaborators, US troops.
Iraqi Resistance forces attacked a white Avalon car being driven
by four persons who worked for the administration of the US-installed
puppet "interim government." The attack that took place at 2pm in
the al-Qadisiyah district of Baghdad destroyed the car and killed
the four collaborator officials, one of them a woman.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded as a US column of Humvees was
passing along the highway bridge leading to the center of the
city in al-Qadisiyah. The blast that took place at about 4pm
destroyed two Humvees and killed five US troops and wounded four
other American soldiers who were riding in the vehicles.
Attacks in Abu Ghurayb.
At 12:15am Iraqi Resistance forces destroyed three US military
trucks in the ash-Shuhada area, destroyed a Bradley armored
vehicle with an RPG7 rocket in al-Kharnabit, and detonated a
bomb and then opened fire with an RPG7 rocket on US forces in
the Khan Darri area, destroying a Bradley armored vehicle. The
three attacks left nine US soldiers dead and six others wounded.
One Resistance fighter was killed and four other Resistance
fighters were wounded in the three attacks.
At 10:15am Iraqi Resistance forces struck a US Bradley armored
vehicle with an SPG9 rocket in he ash-Shayhah disrict of Abu
Ghurayb, destroying it and killing two US troops and wounding
three other American soldiers.
Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 rockets attacked a US patrol
on the highway in Abu Ghurayb at about 4pm Saturday, destroying a
US Humvee and killing three US soldiers and wounding a fourth.
Ambush on Hayfa Street.
At 3pm Saturday, Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 rockets
ambushed a US patrol on Hayfa Street in Baghdads al-Karakh
district, destroying one Humvee, disabling a Bradley armored
vehicle and killing a reported four US troops.
Attack in al-Ilam area of Baghdad.
Iraqi Resistance forces destroyed a pickup truck belonging to
the puppet so-called "Iraqi national guard" in the al-Ilam
area of Baghdad, killing four soldiers aboard it at 5pm Saturday.
Resistance attack wounds Turkish truck driver.
At about 5pm Saturday, Iraqi Resistance forces attacked a civilian
truck bringing supplies to US forces in the at-Tarimiyah area north
of Baghdad, wounding a Turkish driver.
Attacks in ad-Durah.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded in the al-Buitha area of
ad-Durah, disabling an American armored vehicle and killing
a US machine gunner aboard it at 5pm Saturday.
Three collaborationist Badr Brigade gunmen were killed at about
4pm Saturday when Resistance fighters firing Kalashnikov assault
rifles attacked their white Nissan Sunny car in the al-Mikanik
area of ad-Durah.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded in the Arab Jabbur area of
the southern Baghdad suburb of ad-Durah, disabling a Bradley
armored vehicle and killing one US soldier and wounding a second
at about 9am Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance fighters firing RPG7 and C5K rockets clashed
with US forces and their Iraqi puppet "national guards" in the
Hur Rajab area, destroying a Humvee and an Abrams tank. Seven
US troops and six puppet soldiers were reported killed by the
Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent, two of them by Resistance
sharpshooters.
Bombing in as-Suwayrah.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded under a US Humvee in as-Suwayrah
Saturday, southwest of Baghdad, killing one US soldier and moderately
wounding two other American troops.
Fighting in al-Janibayn.
At about 1:30pm Saturday fighting broke out in the al-Janibayn
area near Baghdad, in which two Humvees were destroyed and three
Bradley armored vehicles and a truck belonging to the puppet
"national guard" were disabled. The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent
reported that seven US troops and five puppet soldiers were killed
in the fighting and two Resistance fighters martyred. More than
six Resistance fighters were also wounded.
Attacks on Airport Road.
At 3:30pm Saturday Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 rockets
attacked a US patrol on Airport Road near the al-Furat neighborhood,
destroying a GMC command car and a Humvee and killing two US
intelligence officers and two soldiers.
At 7pm Saturday Iraqi Resistance forces detonated a bomb
destroying a US GMC on Airport Road in the area between
the neighborhoods of al-Amiriyah and al-Jihad. The blast
flipped the GMC over several times, killing two soldiers
and seriously wounding a third.
Attack in as-Sayyidiyah.
At 7pm Saturday, an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded on the
highway in as-Sayyidiyah south of Baghdad disabling a Humvee
and killing one US soldier and wounding two others.
Resistance attacks in ar-Ridwaniyah.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded under a US Humvee in ar-
Ridwaniyah southwest of Baghdad, destroying the vehicle and
killing three US troops at 5pm Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance forces detonated a bomb and then opened fire
with RPG7 rockets on a US Bradley armored vehicle in the Middle
Palace [al-Qasr al-Awsat] area of ar-Ridwaniyah at about 9am
Saturday, destroying the Bradley and killing four US troops.
Ambushes in al-Mushahadah.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded under a US Humvee in the
al-Mushahadah area north of Baghdad, killing a reported three
soldiers aboard it at about 5:30pm Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance forces firing RPG7 rockets and BKC automatic
weapons attacked a US column in the al-Mushahadah area north
of Baghdad at about 10:30am Saturday, destroying a Humvee and
a truck loaded with provisions, and killing four US troops.
Resistance bomb attacks in Salman Bak.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded under a US armored personnel
carrier (APC) in the Salman Bak area, killing a reported four
US soldiers aboard it at about 2pm Saturday.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded under a US Abrams tank in
the Salman Bak area, disabling the tank and killing one soldier
aboard it at 2:30pm Saturday.
Resistance bomb destroys supply truck in al-Ishaqi.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded under a civilian truck loaded
with supplies for the US occupation troops in the al-Ishaqi area
between Balad and at-Taji north of Baghdad, destroying the truck
and killing the driver who was believed to be Asian.
Al-Latifiyah.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded on a dirt road as a US patrol
was passing in al-Latifiyah at about 4:30pm Saturday, destroying
an Abrams tank and killing five US troops aboard it, according
to the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent.
Resistance bombardments around the country Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance forces fired four Grad rockets into the US base
in Saddam International Airport at 6am Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance forces fired six Katyusha rockets into the US
as-Suqur base south of Baghdad at 7am Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance forces fired three Grad rockets into the US
al-Bakr base in Balad north of Baghdad at about 8am Saturday.
At 8am Saturday, Iraqi Resistance forces fired eight Katyusha
rockets into the British base at al-Mahawil north of al-Hillah.
Iraqi Resistance forces fired five 82mm mortar rounds into the
joint US-puppet "national guard" base in at-Taji north of Baghdad
at about 8:30am Saturday.
At 10:30am Saturday, Iraqi Resistance forces fired nine 82mm
mortar rounds into the British base in al-Mahmudiyah south of
Baghdad.
Iraqi Resistance forces fired six 82mm mortar rounds into the
US al-Muthanna airbase in Baghdad at about 12:30pm Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance forces shelled the US facility in the former
headquarters of the Iraqi chiefs of staff in Baghdad with eight
120mm mortar rounds at about 1pm Saturday.
Iraqi Resistance forces bombarded American troops concentrated
in the Abu Ghurayb prison at about 2:30pm Saturday with eight
82mm mortar rounds.
From 3pm to 3:15pm Iraqi Resistance forces bombarded the US
troops in the former Iraq Meat Company in Uwayrij south of
Baghdad with four Katyusha rockets.
At 4pm Saturday, Iraqi Resistance fighters fired four Katyusha
rockets and two Grad rockets into the US base in Saddam
International Airport.
At about 4pm Saturday, Iraqi Resistance forces fired six Katyusha
rockets into the British base at al-Mahawil north of al-Hillah.
Iraqi Resistance forces shelled the US facility in the former
headquarters of the Iraqi chiefs of staff in Baghdad with 15
Katyusha rockets at 4pm Saturday, evidently directly hitting
an arsenal because smoke continued to rise over the facility
until 8:30pm.
Iraqi Resistance forces fired five 120mm mortar rounds into
the US as-Suqur base south of Baghdad at 5:30pm Saturday.
At 6pm Saturday, Iraqi Resistance fighters fired nine 120mm
mortar rounds into the US base in Saddam International Airport.
At 6:30pm Saturday Iraqi Resistance fighters fired seven 60mm
mortar rounds into the headquarters of the puppet "national
guard" in the ar-Risalah neighborhood in Baghdad.
At about 7:15pm Saturday Iraqi Resistance fighters fired four
Katyusha rockets into the US occupation headquarters in the
Republican Palace area known to the invaders as the "green zone."
At about 7:45pm Saturday Iraqi Resistance forces fired a Grad
rocket into the US camp at the Equestrian Club in the al-Furat
neighborhood of central Baghdad.
Source:
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDNewsP078
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP077
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP076
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP075
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP074
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP073
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP072
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP070
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP069
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP068
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP065
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP063
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP062
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP061
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP059
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP058
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP057
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP056
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP055
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP053
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDnewsP049
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one news.asp?IDNewsI995
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/
20041120/ap on re mi ea/iraq
* * *
Iraqi Resistance Report
for 19 November 2004.
Friday, 19 November 2004.
Al-Fallujah.
Battle continues as Resistance holds on to the south while harrying
US forces in northern al-Fallujah.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in al-Fallujah, in a report
posted at 9:30pm Mecca time Friday night, reported that battles
between the Resistance and US Marines had intensified along the
perimeter of the ash-Shuhada and al-Jubayl neighborhoods and
the industrial zone of southern al-Fallujah. For the first time
in four days, fighting is reported in the al-Askari neighborhood
as well.
On Thursday the Iraqi Resistance broke through into the northern
half of al-Fallujah, where the American invaders are in a stronger
position, and got into the al-Muhandisin neighborhood. The they
pulled back to the southern part of the city, controlled by the
Resistance in what appears to have been a Resistance attack and
retreat operation.
US troops have not been able to advance into the southern half of
the city for three days. The Resistance, however, opened fighting
yesterday in he al-Askari neighborhood in the east of the city
after several days during which virtually no Resistance activity
took place in that part of town.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent noted that US forces in their
attacks on the ash-Shuhada and al-Jubayl neighborhoods on Thursday
used a new type of gas, different from those used before. The new
gas overcomes the victim and causes asphyxiation. Twenty bodies of
victims of the gas were found in the two neighborhoods in the last
four days.
It appears that the Resistance fighters had come to cope with the
dessicating gas used by the US forces, as Resistance fighters could
be seen carrying around water-dampened cloths.
Meanwhile, US forces are still trying to comb through the northern
part of al-Fallujah, but Resistance fighters strike them with
ambushes, hampering their operations. In fact as of the moment of
writing this report, the correspondent wrote that American troops
had only been able to raid about 15 percent of the houses in the
northern part of al-Fallujah. Americans mark houses that they
have already raided by painting a red cross on it.
The Iraqi Resistance appears to have decided to concentrate its
efforts in the southern half of the city. They have not permitted
American snipers to take up positions in the south of the city.
The correspondent observed that the only US snipers on the south
side of the city were on the outsides of the industrial workshops
in the industrial zone and on the outsides of the houses in the
ash-Shuhada and al-Jubayl neighborhoods. No US snipers have been
able to get inside the southern part of the city.
The Resistance in the southern part of the city is holding up and
holding together very strongly. The Battle of al-Fallujah is urban
warfare, even though al-Fallujah is a small city - its length
from north to south being only 4.5km and its width from east to
west only 4km. Therefore the room to manoeuver within the city is
limited. Despite the diminutive size of the city there are more
than 1,050 tanks and armored vehicles besides the armored personnel
carriers and Humvees ringing the city. This is a larger number of
vehicles than encircled Baghdad during the American invasion of the
country in the spring of 2003.
For fourth straight day: Resistance forces cut American supply
lines to forces attacking al-Fallujah.
Iraqi Resistance forces for the fourth straight day have been able
to cut the US supply lines feeding American troops besieging al-
Fallujah. The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the area reported
that Resistance forces had cut the three main roads leading to al-
Fallujah, in particular the road leading from Abu Ghurayb to al-
Fallujah, in addition to two other routes running to the north and
south.
By cutting the land routes to al-Fallujah, the Iraqi Resistance
is seriously obstructing the supply of the American attackers
in and around the city.
Sectarian hatred stirred up to serve US imperialism.
The correspondents of Mafkarat al-Islam in the areas of as-
Saqlawiyah and al-Amiriyah outside al-Fallujah report observing
that every vehicle belonging to the puppet so-called "Iraqi
national guard" that is participating in the US assault on
al-Fallujah without exception is festooned with pictures
supposed to represent the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib and the Imam
Husayn ibn Ali, the two top "patron saints" of Shii Islam.
Some of the pictures carry the motto, "With the blessings of
our Master Ali we enter al-Fallujah."
Also visible flying over many of the "national guard" cars are
the distinctive black flags of the Shii clerical establishment.
Inside al-Fallujah, the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reports
that the members of the "national guard" have committed massacres
of unarmed civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.
Local civilians in al-Fallujah now fear the behavior of the
"national guard" more than they fear the actions of the American
occupation troops themselves.
Eyewitnesses inside the city report that members of the "national
guard" have cut up the bodies of civilians that they find.
Refugees from the citys al-Jawlan neighborhood said that "national
guardsmen" ran over the bodies of civilians with their cars and
jumped on them with their feet. US troops only do such things to
the bodies of Resistance fighters, but the "national guards" do
it to the bodies of civilians, including women, children, and old
people, in addition to the bodies of the Resistance fighters.
The behavior of the "national guardsmen" towards civilians has been
extremely bad, the sources report. Even translators working for the
Americans hit and slap prisoners, despite the fact that their job
supposedly is only to translate.
It is evident, the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondents write, that
these "national guard" puppet troops are motivated by an intense
sectarian hatred, stoked by declarations and fatwas issued by
leading Shii clerics in an-Najaf.
Mafkarat al-Islam is careful to note, however, that there are
Shii leaders who have denounced the American attack on the city
of al-Fallujah. These include the Ayatallah Ahmad al-Baghdadi,
Shaykh Jawad al-Khalisi, and Sayyid Muqtada as-Sadr. These Shii
religious leaders have condemned what is going on in al-Fallujah
and have issued fatwas prohibiting Shii Muslims from taking part
in the war against al-Fallujah, denouncing as sinners those who
engage in the campaign even if they do so under the banner of the
"national guard" or the puppet police.
Iraqi Baath Party denounces "Iraqi Islamic Party" and religious
reaction as a historic tool of colonialism and US imperialism.
The Arab Baath Socialist Party in Iraq published a declaration on
Friday entitled "Religious Reaction is the historically the closed
reserve for the policies of the United States." The Baath statement
denounced the activity of various forms of religious reaction.
In the first place there is the religious reaction that acts hand
in glove for Iran, and has done so under the Shah as well as under
Khomeini. Such religious reactionaries served as a traitorous base
that welcomed and served the machinations of US efforts to destroy
Iraq - economically, socially, and culturally. As it served Iranian
interests in Iraq, it also targeted the Arab character of Iraq and
its unity as a country.
In the second place, the Baath statement said, there is the
religious reaction that has historically served western colonialism
and US imperialism. It served US imperialism in its global cold
war against the socialist camp after the Second World War, the
Baath statement said. Such reactionary religious elements were
also instrumental in obstructing the Arab renaissance, and the
effort reassert Arab unity under the banner of Arab nationalism
and in particular under the banner of the Arab Baath Party with
its program for Arab renaissance and unity. It obstructed these
efforts on bases that served colonialism and US imperialism by
trying to counterpose Islam to Arabism. In a totally contradictory
manner, these religious reactionaries advocated leaping over Arab
unity to somehow achieve pan-Islamic unity, but meanwhile they
supported and legitimized the local petty Arab regimes that
historically were allied with the colonialist west and the United
States and that were formed on sectarian or dynastic bases.
At the present time, the Baath Party statement said, the so-called
"Islamic Party" in Iraq is playing just such a reactionary role
in service to US imperialism. It is a party that arose out of the
occupation and that operates under the umbrella of the occupations
political program. It emerged on the basis of its acceptance of
the sectarian arrangement imposed by the US occupation, in which
political roles are apportioned to different religious communities.
On this basis, it has taken part in carrying out the plans of the
US occupation. On the basis of this sectarian role, it has worked
with the US occupation in the provinces of Baghdad, Al-Anbar,
Diyala, Salah ad-Din at-Tamim and Ninwa [where there are large
Sunni populations, trans.] It performed this role on behalf of
the occupation at the time of the US offensive in April, when
the Americans first attacked al-Fallujah [and the "Islamic Party"
tried to play the role of a go-between with the occupation while
undermining Resistance demands] and it continues to play this role
on behalf of the US occupation today, the Baath Statement said. It
is trying to lay plots against the Iraqi Resistance for the benefit
of the occupation and the puppet authority.
"The Iraqi Islamic Party in its organization, policies, and
leadership, constitutes a crude, lowly, and disgraceful example
of reactionary religious plotting," the Baath statement said,
noting that has been condemned and rejected for its collaboration
by the Muslim Brotherhood organization in other Arab regions,
notably Jordan and Syria, from the very beginning, and from that
in Egypt later on. "It does its manoeuvering on a margin granted
to it by the occupation, inasmuch as it has always opposed the
jihadi armed confrontation that is being waged by the Iraqi
national resistance movement on the basis of the cause of
resistance and liberation," the Baath statement concluded.
Iraqi Resistance organization seizes US weapons west of al-Fallujah,
blows up US vehicle in Abu Ghurayb.
The Iraqi Resistance organization Brigades of the 1920 Revolution,
the military wing of the National Islamic Resistance has announced
that it has seized US weapons after an operation it carried out
west of al-Fallujah. In a video broadcast by al-Jazeera satellite
TV, some of the American weapons and military materiel that the
Brigades are displayed.
Meanwhile, the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution have taken credit
for an attack on a US military patrol in the Abu Ghurayb area
west of Baghdad. Al-Jazeera TV also broadcast a video showing the
detonation of bombs under a US military vehicle directly blasting
the American vehicle and setting it ablaze.