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Journalism of Courage
US forces killed dozens of Iraqi fighters near Najaf hours after Washington issued an ultimatum to a radical Shi’ite cleric to clear his militia from mosques in the holy city, a US spokesman said on Tuesday.
Airborne gunships wiped out about 57 guerrillas in a single assault against a lone anti-aircraft gun spotted during clashes on the ground, officials said.
It was the bloodiest encounter since firebrand preacher Moqtada Al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia launched a brief revolt against the US-led occupation three weeks ago.
It may mark a new phase in American efforts to dislodge him from Najaf, where he has taken refuge among Islam’s holiest Shi’ite shrines.
In all, US troops killed about 64 fighters in clashes near Kufa, 10 km from Najaf, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a news conference in Baghdad.
Adding to the US burden, Spanish troops left Iraq in a withdrawal ordered by the new government in Madrid, where opposition to the occupation runs high. Spanish PM Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero said only support personnel were left in Iraq and that the last of them would be out by May 27.
US troops, who make up the vast bulk of the 150,000-strong force in Iraq, have had to replace the Spaniards in Najaf.
Meanwhile, President Georgi Parvanov demanded Bulgaria’s 450 troops be moved to safety away from Karbala, after his convoy was fired on when he visited them on Sunday.
In Falluja, police took to the streets on Tuesday, as a deadline expired for guerrillas to hand in heavy weapons. After bloody skirmishing on Monday, clashes were relatively light. Kimmitt said he was not sure any weapons were turned over on Tuesday. Marines encircling Falluja had said they might mount patrols with Iraqi police as early as Tuesday, but Kimmitt said that might take another day or two. It remained unclear how US forces expect to enter Falluja without triggering new fighting.
American commanders say they face up to 2,000 fighters — some diehard Saddam loyalists, others trying to reassert Sunni dominance of Iraq and maybe about 200 foreign Islamic radicals, some possibly linked to Al Qaeda.
Washington is struggling to douse these twin challenges to the new order in Baghdad without inflaming anger at civilian casualties before the US authority hands over power to an appointed Iraqi government on June 30. Najaf and Falluja have provided acid tests among Iraq’s two main communities. —(Reuters)
