U.S. forces in heavy clashes in Baghdad

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces backed by attack helicopters fought gunmen in Baghdad on Tuesday, witnesses said, in what appeared to be the heaviest battle in the capital since a security crackdown was launched in February.

~snip~


Two witnesses in Baghdad said they saw U.S. helicopters fire on buildings where gunmen had holed up in the Sunni stronghold of Fadhil. Police and witnesses said there had been casualties.

The U.S. military said there was an operation in the area and that an Apache attack helicopter had been hit by small arms fire. It returned to base.

The Baghdad offensive is regarded as a last-ditch attempt to halt Iraq's slide into all-out civil war.

Abu Omar, a local journalist and resident in Fadhil, said the operation by U.S. and Iraqi troops started before dawn. He said he saw helicopters rocket several buildings while gunmen armed with belt-fed machine guns roamed the streets.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070410/wl_nm/iraq_dc_38

[rodeodance]

1. Four U.S. soldiers were killed on Monday, putting April on course to be the deadliest

GROWING TOLL

Four U.S. soldiers were killed on Monday, putting April on course to be the deadliest for troops this year as more American and Iraqi forces deploy under the Baghdad security plan.

The latest deaths bring to about 45 the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq this month, half of them in the Baghdad area. Between 80 and 85 soldiers were killed in each of the first three months of the year, according to military figures.

[maddezmom]

2. Five die in blast near Iraq university

Five die in blast near Iraq university

Tue, 10 Apr 2007
A car bombing killed five people and wounded another 10 on Tuesday near Baghdad University, Iraq's biggest and oldest institute of higher education, security officials said.

The attack took place near the university campus in the southwestern Jadiriyah district of the capital.

Colleges and academics have been a persistent target for insurgents in the war-wracked country in the four years since the US-led invasion.

A steady rattle of gunfire also reverberated across the central Al-Fadhel district of Baghdad where security forces were raiding insurgent hideouts.

http://iafrica.com/news/specialreport/iraq/759249.htm

[catmandu57]

3. In the Sunni stronghold

It's coming from both sides now. The Shias are renewing resistance, they'll put a hold on killing each other to kill more Yankees.

[Trajan]

4. Ah .... The Israeli Model of close-in urban warfare ....

Firing air to ground missiles into city buildings to get 'the bad guys', while the rest of the stiffs in the neighborhood scramble for a hole to jump in ..... and hopefully avoid mixing today's modern ordinance with their morning cup of tea ....

How is that Israeli thing working anyways ? ..... Is their peace and harmony between human brothers in the ME yet ? ....

Uh huh ... works like a charm .... :sarcasm:

[Eugene]

5. Two helicopters hit in Fadhil district; 14 bodies found around Iraq; mortar attacks

Source: Reuters

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, April 10
10 Apr 2007 13:21:40 GMT
Source: Reuters

April 10 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 1300 GMT
on Tuesday:

* denotes new or updated item.

-snip-

* BAGHDAD - A car bomb at an intersection near Baghdad University in the
southern part of the capital killed five people and wounded 11, police said.

* BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said two helicopters were hit by small arms
fire during fierce clashes between gunmen and Iraqi and U.S. forces in the
central Fadhil district, a Sunni insurgent stronghold. Residents reported
seeing helicopters rocket buildings where gunmen were holed up.

-snip-

BAGHDAD - The bodies of nine people were found shot on Monday in different
districts of Baghdad, police said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BAY024109.htm

[maddezmom]

7. BAGHDAD - At least 10 people were killed in clashes between gunmen & Iraqi & U.S. forces in Baghdad

BAGHDAD - At least 10 people were killed in clashes between gunmen and Iraqi and U.S. forces in central Baghdad, police said. The U.S. military said two helicopters were hit by small arms fire but returned to base safely. Residents said they saw helicopters rocket buildings where gunmen were holed up.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BAY024109.htm

[Lochloosa]

6. Hey McCain....take a stroll....please

[saigon68]

9. Nah he's sitting this one out

[DemoTex]

12. "Going Downtown" has been McCain's Achilles Heel for four decades.

In 1967 he was shot-down (literally) over downtown Hanoi. In 2007 McCain was "shot-down" (figuratively) over downtown Baghdad.

[xchrom]

8. today it's the u.s. war on sunnis -- tomorrow it's the

shiite war on the u.s. and on and on.

[bemildred]

10. U.S. suffering higher casualties in Iraq

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Two months into the troop “surge” in Iraq, the U.S. military is suffering an increase in battlefield deaths while Iraqi civilian casualties in greater Baghdad have dropped sharply.

Army officials say the reason is two-fold. Army units have intensified their efforts to defeat the insurgents. And, al-Qaida in Iraq and Iraqi guerrillas are focusing more on American targets to defeat the troop reinforcement plan, which is widely seen as the United States’ last chance to stabilize the country.

"We have become more aggressive,” an Army official at the Pentagon said Monday. “Taking more risks contributes to the higher KIA rate.

A second Army official said, "The enemy knows that the only real metric is U.S . soldier and Marine deaths. The enemy knows that this manipulates our politics, media, and governance." Both Army sources asked to remain anonymous because of possible repercussions.

http://www.examiner.com/a-664351~U_S%3Cb%3Esuffering_higher_casualties_in_Iraq.html

[bemildred]

11. Icasualties says we have 51 so far this month, counting the British.

You do the math.

http://icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=4-2007

[LeftHander]

13. FUnny guy on NPR said Baghdad was now quiet and calm

Just this morning...I said WTF to that...

[AzDar]

14. Success! More death and destruction means the Bush/Cheney

surge is working just as planned....
War is peace.
Death is life.
Up is down.:crazy:

[cliss]

15. A few years ago, I read that

"the only reason we're there is to cause chaos and create animosity between the Sunni's and the Shi'as."

I used to dismiss these allegations.
But when I read things like "insurgents" and "the enemy", and I have NO IDEA who they're talking about...

....well maybe it's true.

I've also read that with Iran's Shi'a population + Iraq's Shi'as = the Shi'as would be in charge of 95% of the world's oil supply. And the U.S. will do anything to stop that.....

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. That's impossible.

That would mean the insurgents would be violating their curfew.

[Eugene]

17. British troops battle gunmen in southern Iraqi city

Source: Reuters

British troops battle gunmen in southern Iraqi city
10 Apr 2007 18:15:10 GMT
Source: Reuters

BASRA, Iraq, April 10 (Reuters) - British troops battled gunmen
in the volatile Iraqi city of Basra on Tuesday after coming under
fire during a routine search operation, the British military said.

"Ten of the enemy were hit. I don't know whether they were
wounded or killed. There was a substantial exchange of gunfire,"
British military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Kevin Stratford-
Wright said.

He said gunmen had opened fire on the British force from
alleyways and rooftops with machinegun fire and several rocket-
propelled grenades. The soldiers had returned fire from
machineguns mounted on armoured personnel carriers.

Iraqi police said two gunmen were wounded and two arrested
in the fighting in Basra's southwestern Qibla district. One
policeman was also hurt.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL061894.htm

[maddezmom]

18. Raid on Sunni mosque sets off fierce battle in Iraq

Raid on Sunni mosque sets off fierce battle in Iraq
By Alissa J. Rubin Published: April 11, 2007


BAGHDAD: Sunni militants and residents of the Baghdad neighborhood of Fadhil fought a fierce daylong battle with the Iraqi Army and American soldiers on Tuesday in what appeared to be the most sustained confrontation since the start of the security plan to calm violence in the capital.

The battle left seven people dead, three insurgents and four Iraqi soldiers, and wounded 16 United States soldiers, according to a statement from the American military. Two Iraqi Army soldiers and one child were also wounded, the statement said.

But neighborhood residents reported far higher fatalities and said local gunmen had destroyed five Iraqi Army Humvees. The fighting damaged an Apache helicopter, the United States military said.

The fighting started after the Iraqi Army raided a mosque and killed two men, according to residents contacted by phone and a Sunni religious group. Residents said the gun battle began near the mosque in an area with many warehouses and continued in a residential neighborhood.


http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/11/africa/web-0411iraq.php