Dozen marines killed, Iraqi toll mounting
Wednesday 07 April 2004, 9:50 Makka Time, 6:50 GMT
At least 36 more Iraqis have been killed in US attacks and a dozen marines have died
as clashes rage on between occupation forces, Sunni resistance and supporters of
Muqtada al-Sadr in at least eight towns and cities.
Another 25 Iraqis were injured when US occupation forces fired missiles at residential
areas overnight in the besieged town of Falluja, said hospital sources on Wednesday.
Falluja has come under fierce US attack in the last three days as occupation forces
sealed off the town, a hotbed of anti-occupation activity, in an effort to crush the
resistance.
The latest deaths raise the toll in Falluja, 65km west of Baghdad, to at least 75 dead
and dozens more injured in the past three days. Forces have besieged the town to
detain in last week's ambush killing of four American security guards. The bodies were
mutilated and dragged through the streets by Iraqi mobs.
In Ramadi, another centre of anti-occupation activities, a dozen US marines died when
resistance fighters attacked their position near the governor's palace. It was the
deadliest single strike against occupation forces since the start of the war.
The White House quickly declared that the raid would not oust forces from Iraq. US
officials said there were "significant losses" to resistance fighters, but gave no
further details.
Bloody days
Since clashes erupted between occupation forces and al-Sadr loyalists on Sunday, US
forces have suffered at least 19 casualties. A Salvadoran and Ukrainian soldier have
also died in the clashes.
Al-Sadr City has been the scene
of deadly clashes in recent days
More than 100 Iraqis have been killed and scores more wounded by occupation fire since
fighting broke out in the southern city of Najaf, before sweeping to seven other
cities and towns including Falluja, Ramadi, Nasiriya, Amara, Baghdad and Karbala.
Kut was the latest southern city to be gripped by battles as al-Sadr militiamen
clashed with Ukrainian forces.
It is the first time since the US-led war that some Shia factions have taken up arms
against occupation troops.
Al-Sadr ordered his loyalists to join the resistance after Spanish forces opened fire
on demonstrators in Najaf, killing at least 20 Iraqis and wounding scores.
Protesters had been calling for the release of al-Sadr aide, Mustafa Yacubi, detained
by occupation forces last weekend. They were also protesting the closure by occupation
authorities of a pro-al-Sadr newspaper, al-Hawza.
More resistance?
Until Sunday, Shia leaders have ordered followers to cooperate with the occupation and
"resist peacefully". Iraq's leading Shia cleric Iranian-born Grand Ayat Allah Ali
al-Sistani has ordered followers not to take up arms.
There seems to be no let up to
the suffering of Iraqis
However, al-Sadr lacks religious education and credibility and bases his religious
authority on his lineage.
He is the son of Grand Ayat Allah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a prominent Iraqi Shia
leader who was killed in 1999 along with two of his other sons.
His followers will continue to battle occupation forces until troops withdraw from
populated areas and prisoners are released, said an al-Sadr aide on Tuesday.
"This insurrection shows that the Iraqi people are not satisfied with the occupation
and they will not accept oppression," according to a statement from al-Sadr's office.
Al-Sadr decided to end a sit-in at the main mosque in Kufa, near Najaf, because he
feared that the mosque would be raided and defiled by occupation troops.
Aljazeera learned he had secluded himself in the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf.
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