CommunityEditor
04-28-2008, 07:31 PM
BAGHDAD — Between Iraq and Afghanistan, 50 militants have been killed since Sunday, according to reports. American and Iraqi troops killed 38 militants in the fiercest clashes with militants in weeks in Baghdad, including 22 who attacked a military checkpoint in a Shiite militia stronghold, the U.S. military said Monday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says a dozen insurgents have been killed during a clash in the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan.
The military said in a news release that the fighting erupted after coordinated militant attacks on five U.S. and Afghan military outposts.
The military says another 12 insurgents were wounded. No U.S. or Afghan soldiers were hurt.
Suspected Shiite extremists in Iraq, apparently taking advantage of a sandstorm that blanketed the capital, attacked several checkpoints Sunday and hammered the U.S.-protected Green Zone in the fiercest salvo in weeks. The sandstorm had grounded the American aircraft that normally prowl for launching teams.
Attacks continued Monday morning as insurgents lobbed more rockets or mortar shells toward the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. embassy and much of the Iraqi government on the west side of the Tigris River. Alarms could be heard and the public address system in the area warned residents to take cover and stay away from windows.
The U.S. Embassy on Monday confirmed the area was hit by indirect fire, the military’s term for rocket or mortar attacks, and said there were “no reports of serious injury or deaths at this time.”
While the sandstorm eased, the militants continued to benefit from low visibility that gave cover to the launching teams from the U.S. attack aircraft that normally target them.
The fighting escalated as anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, rejected terms set by the Iraqi government for lifting a crackdown against his Mahdi army militia.
He also has threatened to launch an “open war” against the U.S.-led foreign troops — a move that would lift a nearly 8-month-old cease-fire and jeopardize recent security gains.
In a step to avoid a full-blown confrontation with the government, al-Sadr on Friday called for an end to Iraqi bloodshed. But the attacks against Iraqi military checkpoints Sunday suggested that patience was running thin within the ranks of the Mahdi army.
American commanders have blamed what they call Iranian-backed Shiite factions they say have broken with a cease-fire imposed by al-Sadr in late August.
The clashes Sunday were concentrated in Sadr City, the stronghold of the Mahdi army, where U.S. soldiers used Abrams tanks to repel the attackers.
The American and Iraqi soldiers came under attack “by a large group of criminals,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
Fifty-eight people, including five children and eight women, were also injured in clashes in Sadr City since Sunday, local health officials said Monday.
The U.S. military claimed success with operations that have effectively sealed off the southern section of Baghdad’s Sadr City, a militia stronghold that is believed to be one of the prime launching sites for the Green Zone attacks.
The Green Zone has been regularly shelled since fighting broke out over a U.S.-backed government crackdown against militias that began in late March. American commanders have blamed what they call Iranian-backed Shiite factions they say have broken with a cease-fire imposed by al-Sadr in late August.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_50militants_042808/
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says a dozen insurgents have been killed during a clash in the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan.
The military said in a news release that the fighting erupted after coordinated militant attacks on five U.S. and Afghan military outposts.
The military says another 12 insurgents were wounded. No U.S. or Afghan soldiers were hurt.
Suspected Shiite extremists in Iraq, apparently taking advantage of a sandstorm that blanketed the capital, attacked several checkpoints Sunday and hammered the U.S.-protected Green Zone in the fiercest salvo in weeks. The sandstorm had grounded the American aircraft that normally prowl for launching teams.
Attacks continued Monday morning as insurgents lobbed more rockets or mortar shells toward the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. embassy and much of the Iraqi government on the west side of the Tigris River. Alarms could be heard and the public address system in the area warned residents to take cover and stay away from windows.
The U.S. Embassy on Monday confirmed the area was hit by indirect fire, the military’s term for rocket or mortar attacks, and said there were “no reports of serious injury or deaths at this time.”
While the sandstorm eased, the militants continued to benefit from low visibility that gave cover to the launching teams from the U.S. attack aircraft that normally target them.
The fighting escalated as anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, rejected terms set by the Iraqi government for lifting a crackdown against his Mahdi army militia.
He also has threatened to launch an “open war” against the U.S.-led foreign troops — a move that would lift a nearly 8-month-old cease-fire and jeopardize recent security gains.
In a step to avoid a full-blown confrontation with the government, al-Sadr on Friday called for an end to Iraqi bloodshed. But the attacks against Iraqi military checkpoints Sunday suggested that patience was running thin within the ranks of the Mahdi army.
American commanders have blamed what they call Iranian-backed Shiite factions they say have broken with a cease-fire imposed by al-Sadr in late August.
The clashes Sunday were concentrated in Sadr City, the stronghold of the Mahdi army, where U.S. soldiers used Abrams tanks to repel the attackers.
The American and Iraqi soldiers came under attack “by a large group of criminals,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
Fifty-eight people, including five children and eight women, were also injured in clashes in Sadr City since Sunday, local health officials said Monday.
The U.S. military claimed success with operations that have effectively sealed off the southern section of Baghdad’s Sadr City, a militia stronghold that is believed to be one of the prime launching sites for the Green Zone attacks.
The Green Zone has been regularly shelled since fighting broke out over a U.S.-backed government crackdown against militias that began in late March. American commanders have blamed what they call Iranian-backed Shiite factions they say have broken with a cease-fire imposed by al-Sadr in late August.
Article: http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_50militants_042808/