[A-List] Anglo-Saxon Crusaders Continue To Sack, Pillage Conquered Iraq

[Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

1) Najaf: World Shiism's Holiest Shrine Damaged In
Attack
2) Scores Of Iraqis Killed, Wounded At Shiite Site In
Newest US Najaf Assault
3) Iraqis Killed In Latest Firefight With US Troops
4) US Forces Drive Tanks Through Mosque Compound, Kill
32, Wound 54 Iraqis In Shiite City Of Kufa
5) Blast Hits Baghdad As Clashes Between US Troops,
Shiites Go On
6) Baghdad: Bomb Explodes Outside Australian Embassy,
Five Iraqis Injured
7) One American Soldier Killed, Four Wounded In Rocket
Attack
8) Explosion Stops Iraqi Oil Flow To Turkey
9) US, Britain, Australia: Anglo-Saxon World Masters
Quibble Over Details Of Iraq 'Sovereignty'
10) Colin Powell: US Forces Free [To Kill And Torture]
Outside Control Of 'Sovereign' Iraq



1)
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=65945

Pakistan Tribune
May 25, 2004

Imam Ali Shrine Damaged in Attack


A mortar round exploded inside Shiite Islam's holiest
shrine in the central city of Najaf wounding 10, an
AFP correspondent witnessed.

The upper part of one of the main gold-covered gates
leading to the tomb of revered Shi'ite Imam Ali was
damaged and rubble was strewn on the blood-stained
floor of the shrine.

Aides of radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr said 10
people were wounded in the attack which happened about
11am local time (1700 AEST) and blamed it on US
troops.

Fresh fighting also raged 1km north of the shrine.
Heavy black smoke was seen rising from the area.
------------------------------------------------------
2)
http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=5/26/2004&Cat=4&Num=013

Tehran Times
May 25, 2004

Holy Shiite Shrine in Iraq Damaged in Attack


-The upper part of one of the main gold-covered gates
leading to the tomb of revered Shiite Imam Ali (AS)
was damaged and rubble strewn on the blood-stained
floor of the shrine.
-"We have seven killed and 45 wounded, including 10
injured at the shrine," said medics at Najaf's Hakim
hospital.



NAJAF - Seven people were killed and 45 wounded in
fighting on Tuesday in Iraq's central holy city of
Najaf, where a mortar round exploded inside Shiite
Islam's holiest shrine, medics said.

The upper part of one of the main gold-covered gates
leading to the tomb of revered Shiite Imam Ali (AS)
was damaged and rubble strewn on the blood-stained
floor of the shrine.

"We have seven killed and 45 wounded, including 10
injured at the shrine," said medics at Najaf's Hakim
hospital.

Aides of Shiite radical leader Moqtada Sadr said
earlier that 10 people were wounded in the attack on
the mausoleum, which happened at around 11:00 and
blamed it on U.S. troops.

But there was no immediate confirmation of who fired
the mortar. A spokesperson for the U.S. military in
Baghdad said she had no reports of any unrest in
Najaf.

Calm returned to the holy city by early afternoon,
following clashes one kilometer north of the shrine.

For more than a month, Najaf has been the scene of
almost daily clashes between U.S. troops and
militiamen loyal to Sadr.

Five Iraqis were killed and 18 wounded in overnight
fighting in nearby Kufa, after 32 people died in
clashes there early Sunday, 20 of them in a U.S. raid
on a mosque in the town.
------------------------------------------------------
3)
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/may2004-daily/25-05-2004/main/update.shtml#47

Jang (Pakistan)
May 25, 2004

12 Iraqis killed during fighting between US army and
Iraqi militants


NAJAF, IRAQ: Twelve Iraqis were killed as clashes
between US troops and Shitte militiamen left Muslims
in the holy city of Najaf reeling after a mortar
exploded inside Shiite Islam?s holiest shrine.
------------------------------------------------------
4)
http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en65826&F_catID=&f_type=source

Hi Pakistan
May 25, 2004


Fighting kills 32, wounds 54 in Iraq city of Kufa:
military, medics


-"Tanks crashed through the gates of the mosque
compound, during the night and soldiers entered while
helicopters hovered overhead," said Hussein Yasser,
32, who lives near the Selah mosque where the fighting
took place.
-[D]octors said 54 wounded people had been taken to
two hospitals in the city....


KUFA - Coalition troops killed 32 insurgents in fierce
fighting Sunday against Shiite militiamen in the
central Iraqi city of Kufa, including 20 in a mosque
compound, the US military said.

A coalition spokesman said all those slain in the
mosque were militiamen loyal to firebrand Shiite
cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose fighters have been locked
in a deadly uprising against foreign occupation troops
for more than a month.

A later statement said the US Army's 1st Armored
Division and Iraqi security forces had come under fire
from the insurgents in several locations.

"The task force and ISF (Iraqi security forces)
returned fire, killing 32 attackers," it said.

"An estimated 20 Moqtada militia were killed when
coalition soldiers returned fire after being attacked
with rocket propelled grenade and small arms fire
during a raid on the Selah mosque in Kufa," a military
spokesman said.

"Tanks crashed through the gates of the mosque
compound, during the night and soldiers entered while
helicopters hovered overhead," said Hussein Yasser,
32, who lives near the Selah mosque where the fighting
took place.

The heavy clashes lasted for about one hour, he added.


Bloodstains were seen on the ground of the mosque
compound, along with spent cartridges and the prints
of tank tracks, while the walls were riddled with
bullet strikes.

The US military insisted its troops did not enter the
mosque itself, but that an Iraqi counter-terrorism
unit had raided the building, confiscating a cache of
weapons.

"We have no intention of entering the shrines," said
Major General Martin Dempsey, who commands the 1st AD,
but he stressed Iraqi forces would enter holy places,
often requisitioned by militiamen as fighting
strongholds, if necessary.

Earlier, doctors said 54 wounded people had been taken
to two hospitals in the city, but the US military said
there were no reports of coalition casualties.

Ten of the dead and 11 wounded were taken to the Furat
al-Awsat hospital in Kufa, said official Mohammed
Abdel Kazem.

At the Hakim hospital, an official said 10 dead had
been taken to the morgue and 43 were wounded.

About a dozen houses close to the mosque were damaged.


Coalition spokesman Dan Senor has insisted the only
deal that could be cut with Sadr was one that involved
his surrender and the disbanding of his forces.

"But in the interim, we will continue to use our own
methods for getting Moqtada's militia off the
streets," US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy
director of military operations, added just hours
before the Kufa clashes.

Sadr is holed up in Najaf, not far from Kufa, to
escape arrest on charges related to the slaying of a
rival cleric. But he has still managed to preach in
Kufa every Friday in a large mosque not far from the
scene of the battle.

In his sermon two days ago, Sadr urged his followers
to continue to fight coalition forces regardless of
whether he is killed or captured.

Minutes later one of his closest aides, Muhammad
Tabtabai, was arrested by US forces as he headed back
from Kufa to Najaf, said an official in Sadr's office.

------------------------------------------------------
5)
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/may2004-daily/25-05-2004/main/update.shtml#48

Jang (Pakistan)
May 25, 2004

Blast hits Baghdad as clashes between US troops,
Shiites go on


BAGHDAD: Iraq was shaken by a bomb blast in the
capital and fighting between US troops and Shiite
militiamen after US president George W. Bush outlined
his strategy for a retun to self-rule, warning of more
bloodshed, sources reported.
------------------------------------------------------
6)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/26/1085461787641.html

Sydney Morning Herald
May 26, 2004


Bomb explodes near Aussie embassy


One of the most sacred shrines of Shia Islam suffered
minor damage during clashes between US forces and
radical Shi'ite militiamen that killed at least 13
Iraqis, some of them civilians. It was unclear who was
responsible for the shrine damage.

In Baghdad, a car bomb near a hotel wounded at least
five Iraqis, the US military said. The target of the
blast, about 100 metres from the Australian embassy,
was not immediately clear.

Police said they believed the car bomb may have
targeted the Australian embassy, and that it detonated
prematurely. The Australian government said its troops
in Iraq were still investigating.

Australia sent 2,000 troops to take part in the
invasion of Iraq and still has 850 military personnel
in and around the country.

The attack in the Jadiriyah district occurred about 50
metres from the Karma Hotel, where foreign journalists
and UN weapons inspectors used to stay before the war
that ousted Saddam Hussein.

US Army Colonel Mike Murray said he did not believe
there were Westerners at the hotel.

"We don't know if it was a suicide bomber or not,"
Murray said.

He said five Iraqis were injured, including a
10-year-old boy who was critically hurt. Windows in
some nearby buildings were shattered.

Later, insurgents fired rockets from an apartment
house toward a police station in central Baghdad,
triggering huge explosions and wounding one American
soldier, witnesses and officials said.

After the fighting in Najaf eased, people gathered at
the Imam Ali shrine to look at the damage. The inner
gate of the shrine, leading into the tomb of Imam Ali
Ibn Abu Talib, appeared to have been hit by a
projectile. Debris was scattered on the ground.

Al-Jazeera television showed a torn veil covering the
gate, and damage on the wall around it. It also showed
several injured people lying on the floor of the
mosque compound, and an angry crowd of more than 100
shouting and shaking their fists at the site.

Supporters of Shi'ite militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr
accused the Americans of firing mortars at the mosque,
and said 12 people were injured in the mosque
compound.

In Baghdad, US Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt
told Al-Jazeera that the shell that fell on the shrine
was not American and was not fired by coalition
forces.

Another projectile landed outside the shrine, about 10
metres away from the outer wall. Three militiamen were
injured in that attack, and three fighters were killed
in fighting in the city, al-Sadr's office said.

Imam Ali was the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and
son-in-law and he is the most revered saint among
Shi'ite Muslims.
------------------------------------------------------
7)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1115502.htm


Agence France-Presse
May 25, 2004


US soldier killed in Iraq rocket attack


A US soldier has been killed and four others wounded
in a rocket attack on a coalition base north-west of
Baghdad.

The US military says the attack happened at 2:20pm
local time.

"One Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed and four
others wounded during a rocket attack on a coalition
base north-west of Baghdad," the statement said.

The latest fatality brought the US military death toll
in Iraq to 797 since the start of the US-led invasion
in March 2003. This figure includes 581 troops killed
in action.
------------------------------------------------------
8)
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2004/5/25/latest/17507Explosion&sec=latest

Associated Press
May 25, 2004


Explosion stops Iraqi oil flow to Turkey


ANKARA, Turkey: A bomb blast stopped the flow of Iraqi
oil to a key export terminal in Turkey, an official
said Tuesday, cutting Iraq's export capacity by some
400,000 barrels per day.

The explosion damaged parts of a twin pipeline running
from Iraqi oil fields near the northern city of Kirkuk
to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, the Turkish official
said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

The oil pipeline recently has been shipping about
400,000 barrels per day. Iraq's total exports have
recently averaged about 1.65 million barrels per day.

The head of Iraq's North Oil Co., Adel Kazaz,
confirmed that insurgents blew up part of the pipeline
Monday and said it was still on fire on Tuesday, Dow
Jones Newswires reported.

"We don't have detailed information, but the oil flow
was cut Monday evening after an explosion,'' the
Turkish oil official at Ceyhan said. "I can't say when
they can resume pumping oil.''

Another source at Ceyhan told Dow Jones that the blast
damage "looks serious and repairs could take some
time.''

Kazaz declined to quantify the impact on the northern
pipeline, Dow Jones said.

The Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been attacked
repeatedly since the fall of Saddam Hussein last year.
The flow to Ceyhan only resumed late Sunday afternoon,
a source at the terminal said Monday, after it was
interrupted last week due to a technical problem on
the Iraq side, Dow Jones reported.
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1116079.htm

Australian Broadcasting Company
May 26, 2004

US, Britain, Australia split on Iraq 'sovereignty'


-The apparent difference between the allies could
complicate their efforts to secure UN Security Council
endorsement for a June 30 handover in Iraq,
particularly after France, Russia and China signalled
they wanted changes to a draft resolution.
-US Secretary of State Colin Powell said:
"Ultimately...US forces remain under US command and
will do what is necessary to protect themselves."
-Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill says he
doubts a "sovereign" Iraq had the ability to command
the occupation forces.
-In Iraq, people reacted with scepticism to Mr Bush's
promises of a peaceful and independent future, saying
a US offer of sovereignty did not go far enough to
restore their freedom.
"Bush is a scorpion. He is a liar. He is sneaky,
making all kinds of promises when he just wants to
control Iraq," Ayman Haidar, a policeman manning a
Baghdad traffic checkpoint, said.



The US, Britain and Australia have offered conflicting
interpretations of how much control the "sovereign"
Iraqi interm government would have over foreign troops
after the June 30 handover.

Britain says the interim government would have final
control, Washington says its forces will be under US
command and do whatever necessary to protect
themselves and Australia says it doubts the new
government could command the foreign troops.

The apparent difference between the allies could
complicate their efforts to secure UN Security Council
endorsement for a June 30 handover in Iraq,
particularly after France, Russia and China signalled
they wanted changes to a draft resolution.

"The final political control [over foreign troops]
remains with the Iraqi government. That's what the
transfer of sovereignty means," British Prime Minister
Tony Blair said.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell said:
"Ultimately...US forces remain under US command and
will do what is necessary to protect themselves."

An official in US President George W Bush's
administration says the issue would be discussed with
the interim government and added: "I think it can be
worked out."

Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill says he doubts
a "sovereign" Iraq had the ability to command the
occupation forces.

"The principle is that we are looking for the interim
government to be genuinely sovereign but the reality
is that it is not going to be capable to provide the
security that is necessary for the further process of
transition within Iraq," Mr Hill said at a Q&A session
at the Menzies Research Centre.

"The exact detail of the command is obviously
something that is still to be determined.

"Whilst I met the new Iraqi Defence Minister, and he?s
a most impressive man, and whilst I?ve met his
equivalent of our CDF, both had only just taken
office, and whether they would feel that they would be
able to command a multi-national force of the size and
complexity of what is there at the moment, I very much
doubt."

Australia has about 850 troops in the Iraqi theatre.

Adnan Pachachi, a senior member of the US-appointed
Iraqi governing council, weighed in on Mr Blair's side
in a BBC TV interview: "It is our understanding that
any operations will have to have the approval of the
Iraq government".

US sources said Hussain Shahristani, a Shiite nuclear
scientist imprisoned under Saddam Hussein's rule in
the notorious Abu Ghraib jail near Baghdad, was
expected to be named prime minister in the interim
government.

UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, called in to help by
Washington, is due to name a government shortly
representing Iraq's potentially volatile mix of
religious and ethnic communities.

In Iraq, people reacted with scepticism to Mr Bush's
promises of a peaceful and independent future, saying
a US offer of sovereignty did not go far enough to
restore their freedom.

"Bush is a scorpion. He is a liar. He is sneaky,
making all kinds of promises when he just wants to
control Iraq," Ayman Haidar, a policeman manning a
Baghdad traffic checkpoint, said.

On the military front, US officials say the Pentagon
would replace Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez as
the top US commander, but that the change was not
triggered by a prisoner abuse scandal that has damaged
the US image in the Arab world.

The draft UN resolution is an integral part of Mr
Bush's plan for Iraq, but he needs a minimum of nine
votes on the 15-member Security Council and no veto by
France, Russia and China. The other permanent
veto-wielding members are Washington and London.

French President Jacques Chirac called Mr Bush by
telephone to say sovereignty must be real and
perceived as such by Iraqis.

A burning issue is the presence of US-led forces after
June 30, with some countries and many Iraqis saying it
will undermine the interim government's independence.
Mr Bush says the troops are vital for security until
Iraq can cope on its own.

France, which along with Russia and China opposed the
war that toppled Saddam, and several other countries,
want an expiry date set for US-led forces in Iraq, but
with a right to renew the deployment if Iraqis agreed,
their envoys said.

The draft calls for a review in a year, meaning the
mandate for the foreign military presence is
open-ended unless the Security Council adopts another
resolution for withdrawal.

Ali Allawi, a defence minister in the governing
council in Baghdad, said he hoped newly trained Iraqi
forces could replace US-led forces within a year.

Mr Bush, campaigning for re-election in November and
fighting to reverse a slide to his lowest opinion poll
ratings, said in a televised address US forces would
stay and even be reinforced to stabilise Iraq in the
run-up to elections due next January.

"As the Iraqi people move closer to governing
themselves, the terrorists are likely to become more
active and more brutal," Mr Bush, facing accusations
by opponents that he has led the United States into a
Vietnam-style quagmire, said.

--Reuters/ABC News Online
------------------------------------------------------
10)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1115864.htm

Kyodo News Agency (Japan)
May 26, 2004

US forces outside control of 'sovereign' Iraq: Powell


-"Now ultimately, however, if it comes down to the
United States armed forces protecting themselves or in
some way accomplishing their mission in a way that
might not be in total consonance with what the Iraqi
interim government might want to do at a particular
moment in time, US forces remain under US command and
will do what is necessary to protect themselves,"
[Powell] said.



The US forces in Iraq will take into account the views
of an Iraqi interim government after the June 30
transfer of power, but remain under US command if they
are not "in total consonance", Secretary of State
Colin Powell says.

Mr Powell's comments appeared to contradict remarks
made earlier in the day by British Prime Minister Tony
Blair that the Iraqi interim government will have
final political control over foreign troops in Iraq.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Belgian
Foreign Minister Louis Michel, Mr Powell said: "The
actual details of how the forces will work together
are being worked out now.

"We're confident that this will be manageable. We want
to take into account the views of the Iraqi interim
government. They are sovereign."

Mr Powell says the United States and the Iraqi interim
government will create political and military
coordinating bodies so that there should be
transparency regarding operations involving US troops
in Iraq.

"Now ultimately, however, if it comes down to the
United States armed forces protecting themselves or in
some way accomplishing their mission in a way that
might not be in total consonance with what the Iraqi
interim government might want to do at a particular
moment in time, US forces remain under US command and
will do what is necessary to protect themselves," he
said.

Mr Blair indicated that the Iraqi interim government
would have a veto power over US military actions such
as a renewed attack on insurgents in the central Iraqi
city of Fallujah.










	
		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends.  Fun.  Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/