Message: 2
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 18:12:50 +0200
From: "Mario Profaca" <mario.profaca at zg.htnet.hr> Subject: Events Leading Up To The Najaf Agreement: Napalm, Cluster Bombs Used
http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=99446&list=/home.p hp& Events Leading Up To The Najaf Agreement: Napalm, Cluster Bombs Used Aug 27, 2004 By Muhammad Abu Nasr, Free Arab Voice; Edited By JUS
Events Leading Up To The Najaf Agreement: Napalm, Cluster Bombs Used
In a report filed at 7:35pm Mecca time Wednesday night, the correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam in an-Najaf reported that more than 35 Jaysh al-Mahdi militiamen had died after an afternoon of intensive activity by US snipers approaching the environs of the Shi‘i religious shrines where the city’s defenders are dug in. American snipers had taken up positions atop houses and tall buildings in the city, and have also cut holes in the walls of houses large enough for them to operate their weapons without being seen or targeted in return.
Kurdish chauvinist Peshmergah militiamen fighting on behalf of the American invaders were taking part in the drive against the defenders of an-Najaf. The Peshmergah militias consist of followers of the Kurdish chauvinist leaders Mas‘ud al-Barizani (head of the so-called Kurdistan Democratic Party), and Jalal Talibani (head of the so-called National Union of Kurdistan). Both men are members of the US-installed puppet regime and have long collaborated with the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In addition, the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in an-Najaf reported that members of the Badr Brigades – a force that invaded Iraq in tandem with US aggressor troops in spring 2003 and who are loyal to the Shi‘i collaborationist party that calls itself the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) headed by ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Hakim, another member of the US appointed regime, were also engaged in fighting against the people of an-Najaf on behalf of the American aggressors.
Also involved on the American side were mercenary members of the newly formed “Iraqi intelligence service” a puppet secret police being set up by the United States, and members of the Shi‘i sectarian and collaborationist “Da‘wah [Religious propaganda] Party.” In similar fashion, the American invaders made use of the Peshmergah and Badr Brigades when they besieged and battled the people of al-Fallujah in spring 2004.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the city reported that the balance in the fighting tilted in favor of the US aggressors, as the call of Shi‘i religious authority ‘Ali as-Sistani for a protest march on an-Najaf influenced some of the Jaysh al-Mahdi fighters. It was believed that as-Sistani’s call will serve as a means for extracting them from the shrine area of the city, exposing them to the US forces who had densely encircled the city.
In a report posted at 8:30pm Mecca time Wednesday night the an-Najaf correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam reported that in the afternoon US forces had been advancing on the area of the Shi‘i religious shrines in an-Najaf and were only 350 to 375 meters from the shrine area.
Jaysh al-Mahdi defenders were crowded in the shrine area, known as as-Sahn al-Haydari and also in the old part of the city, large parts of which were overrun by US invaders Wednesday afternoon. That American advance allowed US snipers sufficient access to the area to greatly limit the freedom of movement of Jaysh al-Mahdi forces in the streets of the part of the city that they still controlled.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the city reports that the US forces were meeting with fierce resistance from the Jaysh al-Mahdi.
US Forces Reportedly Used Napalm And Cluster Bombs
Late in the afternoon of Wednesday, US aggressor forces shelled areas in which the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia is entrenched in an-Najaf in the old part of the city, according to a report posted by the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the city at 9:00pm Mecca time Wednesday night. US troops used weapons that are banned by international law as they desperately sought to advance against fierce Jaysh al-Mahdi resistance.
The US forces allegedly dropped napalm and cluster bombs on Jaysh al-Mahdi positions. For two straight hours, American aggressor troops rained eight container bombs – each made up of hundreds of cluster bombs – on the positions of the city’s defenders.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reported that the bombing has been extremely heavy and intense, preventing all movement in the streets of the area. Anyone trying to move, even if he survived the cluster bombs and napalm, would be cut down by American snipers who had taken up positions on rooftops.
It appears that the US forces were hoping to end the critical situation in an-Najaf before the arrival of the pro-American Shi‘i religious authority ‘Ali as-Sistani.
-- Michael Pugliese