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U.S. Forces Kill 15 In Fresh Fallujah ‘Massacre’: Iraqis
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Several local inhabitants were detained in Fallujah
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FALLUJAH,
April 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – At least 15 people
were killed and 20 others injured in overnight U.S. military offensive
on Fallujah, according to news reports Friday, April 16.
As
dusk fell U.S. forces exchanged machine gun fire and bombarded parts
of the city with grenade launchers, reported Reuters.
The
casualties could be much higher in the densely-populated town, where
more than 300,000 people live.
"I
intend to use AC 130 gunships every night" on Fallujah, U.S.
Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne told Agence France-Presse (AFP)
without giving further details of the attack.
Byrne
said his troops were "definitely in the killing business
now".
"It
was rather a massacre in the town overnight. The U.S. forces dropped
the internationally-banned cluster bombs on Fallujah,"
Abdel-Salam Al-Kubessi of the Muslim Scholars Association told a press
conference in Baghdad Friday.
Kubeissi,
who helped release three Japanese hostages held by resistance
fighters, called what is happening in Fallujah a "series of
massacres".
The
American bombardment of Fallujah had claimed the lives of at least 600
Iraqis over the past few days.
A
doctor in the besieged town told IslamOnline.net on Monday, April 12,
that Most of the Iraqis killed in the week-long U.S. military
offensive into the restive town are women
and children.
"These
armed-to-teeth forces are against ordinary people only defending their
town and country," Kubeissi said, adding that ambulance vehicles
were targeted by the occupation forces and several people were
detained.
U.N.
Envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi criticized the U.S. military practices
in Fallujah, saying "collective punishment is certainly
unacceptable and the siege of the city is absolutely
unacceptable".
Mosques
Hit
Fallujah's
second-largest mosque, Hadret Mohammediya, was shelled earlier
Thursday by U.S. forces, according to AFP.
The
strike at about 6:30 pm (1430 GMT) destroyed the top of its minaret
and religious school, while parts of its outer wall were also hit and
most of the windows shattered.
Chairman
of U.S. joint chiefs of staff Richard Myers said during a visit to
Baghdad that the U.S. siege of Fallujah was "humane" - much
to the outrage of local inhabitants and world viewers watching U.S.
warplanes hitting the densely-populated areas in the town.
But
Myers said that new attacks on the town could not be ruled out despite
a truce.
Myers
traced a "common thread" between Sunni fighters in Fallujah
and Shiites fighting against occupation.
Fallujah
has been under a
crippling U.S. siege since Monday, April 5, as its residents said
they are determined to kick
out the occupation troops.
The
cooperation between Sunnis and Shiites came painful to occupation
forces, as The U.S. military has lost at least 92 troops in combat
since March 31 - more than the total killed in the three-week
invasion.
Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged that the recent U.S. military
death toll was beyond expectations.
Refuseniks
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The minaret of the mosque partially destroyed by U.S. fire in Fallujah
(AFP) |
In
the meantime, Iraqi police deployed alongside U.S. forces around
Fallujah refused to join the offensive in solidarity with their fellow
Iraqis.
Soldiers
of the Iraqi Brigade 36 are now besieged by American forces for three
days now because of their refusal to join the offensive, al-Jazeera
said, citing one of the refuseniks.
The
head of U.S. Central Command, General John Abizaid hinted that some
Iraqi officers do not want to cooperate with U.S. troops in attacking
the city.
More
Casualties
In
the south, U.S. occupation forces killed two civilians and injured
several others in clashes with Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr’s Mahdi
Army, al-Jazeera reported.
The
U.S. forces had reinforced their positions around Najaf, where Sadr is
believed to be staying, but refused to say if the U.S.-led forces
would attack the city to capture the Shiite leader.
Al-Jazeera
correspondent said one American soldier was killed and four others
injured in the fierce clashes.
"Najaf
is a holy place," Kaysal Hazali, spokesman for Sadr was quoted as
saying.
"If
they attack it, God knows the results: It is not going to be good for
the occupation," he said.
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