Marines Clash With Insurgents in Ramadi BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. Marines clashed with insurgents at a taxi stand Saturday in a city known as a stronghold of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) supporters, killing three of the attackers and wounding five others, hospital officials said.
The Marines came under fire from the group of insurgents in Ramadi, the military said in a statement. Insurgents frequently clash with coalition forces in the region,a hotbed of insurgent activity known as the Sunni Triangle. The fighting left three Iraqis dead and five injured, local hospital official Saeed Ali said. Elsewhere, insurgents blew up three liquor stores in Baqouba, a city north of Baghdad, amid fears that Islamic militants may be trying to impose their strict interpretation of Islam on the city, witnesses said. The blasts killed a taxi driver who happened to be passing by, said Dr. Nassir Jawad from Baqouba General Hospital. Meanwhile, a Filipino worker reportedly seized by guerrillas in the nearby city of Fallujah appealed to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (news - web sites) to meet their demands and withdraw the Philippines small contingent of troops, according to a video shown Saturday on the Al-Jazeera television station. "Please, Arroyo, withdraw your forces from Iraq (news - web sites)," Angelo dela Cruz pleaded. His voice was inaudible, but an announcer read an Arabic translation of his words. He reportedly was working as a truck driver for a Saudi company when he was seized in an attack that killed his Iraqi security guard. Moments before the tape was aired, the Philippines announced it would withdraw its 51-member humanitarian contingent from Iraq as scheduled after its mandate ends Aug. 20. The government could still decide to renew its troops' mandate, and it wasn't clear if the announcement was acquiescence or defiance to the insurgents' demands. The withdrawal of the Filipino troops would have little effect on the 160,000-strong foreign force here, but the 4,100 Filipino contract workers here are crucial to the running of U.S. bases. Arroyo has already barred new workers from traveling to Iraq. Also Saturday, saboteurs attacked a natural gas pipeline that runs from the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk to a power station, an official with the North Oil Company said. The attack is likely to affect power supplies in the northern region of Iraq, but it was not immediately clear by how much. Insurgents often target the country's crude oil and natural gas infrastructure in hopes of cutting off revenue to Iraq's interim government. Such attacks, together with hostage taking and other acts of intimidation, are intended to disrupt efforts to stabilize and rebuild postwar Iraq. While the Philippines awaited the fate of dela Cruz, Bulgarians were waiting with trepidation to hear about the fate of two of their countrymen taken captive by a separate group. Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group � which has claimed responsibility for the beheadings of two captives in the past � threatened to kill the Bulgarians if the United States does not release all Iraqi detainees in 24 hours. The threat was made in a video broadcast Friday morning. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) called for the release of dela Cruz and two Bulgarian hostages, describing them as "innocent civilians who may have been abducted for political ends in the conflict." The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said the Bulgarian truckers were kidnapped en route to the northern city of Mosul, coming from Bulgaria via Turkey and Syria. Their schedule would have put them in Mosul on June 29, the last day either man contacted his family. Bulgaria has a 480-member infantry unit under Polish command in the southern city of Karbala, a small part of Iraq's 160,000 member multinational force. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70 http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.arsip.da.ru *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Posting: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 7. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
