Insurgents Pound U.S. Base in Najaf
NAJAF, Iraq - Militiamen launched a barrage of mortar shells against
a U.S. base in this holy city and government buildings guarded by
Bulgarian forces in Karbala on Tuesday, a day after intense clashes
in Najaf that killed up to 20 Iraqis.
No coalition troops were killed in the violence, but four U.S.
soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division died after their vehicle
overturned during a combat patrol north of Baghdad, according to the
Army.
U.S. artillery, meanwhile, shelled rebel positions late Monday after
insurgents fired on aircraft near Baghdad airport. Four Iraqi
insurgents were killed, the military said Tuesday.
"Enemy attackers had engaged two aircraft providing close air support
for a ground patrol with small arms fire," the command said in a
written statement. "A coalition forces ground patrol engaged the
enemy attackers and called in artillery support."
Gunners from the Army's 1st Cavalry Division launched a series of
rounds from 155 mm self-propelled Paladin artillery pieces, the
military said.
Sporadic overnight mortar attacks on the U.S. base in Najaf followed
intense fighting on Monday between U.S. forces and militiamen loyal
to radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The U.S. military moved soldiers to the base inside the city last
month after Spanish peacekeepers withdrew from the country.
But the military has been cautious about returning fire. Al-Sadr's
office is located only a few yards from one of the holiest Shiite
shrines and not far from the U.S. base. U.S. officials repeatedly
have accused militiamen of storing weapons in shrines and mosques.
U.S. officers estimated that about 20 Iraqis may have been killed
Monday by U.S. retaliatory fire. Five Iraqis were killed and 16
wounded, according to hospital officials.
In Karbala, 50 miles north of Najaf, the city hall and the police
headquarters, which are guarded by Bulgarian soldiers, also came
under mortar fire before dawn Tuesday, Bulgarian Defense Ministry
spokeswoman Rumyana Strugareva said.
No casualties or damage were reported after that attack, which lasted
about ten minutes.
Al-Sadr's forces, which launched an uprising across southern Iraq
(news - web sites) in early April, have stepped up attacks in recent
days � apparently either to pressure U.S. officials to negotiate an
end to the standoff or to goad troops into retaliating and raising
Shiite anger.
On a second front, a senior Marine officer said Tuesday that the new
Iraqi military force that is replacing U.S. troops in Fallujah, 35
miles west of Baghdad, is "meeting expectations" in bringing calm to
the city.
An all-Iraqi force of up to 1,100 began moving into positions from
withdrawing Marines last week as part of an agreement to restore
order in the city, the site of a nearly monthlong siege that left 10
Marines and several hundred Iraqis dead.
In another development, a former American hostage Thomas Hamill was
pronounced "in generally good health" though a few pounds lighter,
according to Maj. Kerry Jepsen, a surgeon treating him at a U.S.
military hospital in Germany.
Hamill, 43, who escaped his captors Sunday in a daring run to
freedom, was to be reunited with his wife later Tuesday.
"I am very glad to be back on an American installation. I am looking
forward to returning to America," he said. He urged Americans
to "keep your thoughts and prayers with those who are still" in Iraq.
Col. John Coleman, chief of staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force in the western province of Anbar, which includes Fallujah,
would not discuss military activities in Fallujah but said "there is
a percentage of (the city) where normalcy has returned."
Maj. Gen. Mohammed Abdul-Latif, who opposed Saddam Hussein (news -
web sites), was preparing to take over as head of the new force,
subject to a final background check by U.S. officials. Abdul-Latif
would replace another general who may have been involved in Saddam-
era repression.
During a brief news conference, Abdul-Latif condemned the brutal
killing and mutilation of four American contractors in Fallujah last
month, which triggered the siege. However, Abdul-Latif said the
people of Fallujah collectively were not to blame.
"The people of Fallujah should take pride in the fact that that
mutilation was condemned from every (mosque) pulpit," he said. "The
people of Fallujah do not share responsibility for this prohibited
act."
Abdul-Latif met Tuesday with former officers of Saddam's army at the
headquarters of Iraqi security forces in Fallujah.
Fallujah residents have been celebrating what many see as a victory
over the U.S. Marines. Masked and armed insurgents have moved freely
in the city's streets, sometimes standing alongside Iraqi policemen.
U.S. officials say the Fallujah Brigade will crack down on hard-core
guerrillas in the city even though the force itself will likely
include some gunmen who had been involved in fighting against the
Marines.
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