[Marinir] [CNN] Marines fire on mosque to repel attacks

Tue Apr 18 17:44:28 CEST 2006

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/18/iraq.main/index.html

 Marines fire on mosque to repel attacks
18 bodies with signs of torture found around Baghdad
Tuesday, April 18, 2006; Posted: 2:27 a.m. EDT (06:27 GMT)

A U.S. Marine targets suspected insurgents during a firefight Monday in 
Ramadi, Iraq.
Image:
SPECIAL REPORT

RAMADI, Iraq (CNN) -- A coordinated attack from three directions on the 
governor's compound in Ramadi Monday left an unknown number of insurgents 
dead after an hourlong fight with U.S. Marines.

The insurgent assault -- which included car bombs, mortars, rocket-propelled 
grenades and machine-gun and small-arms fire -- occurred between 1 p.m. and 
2 p.m., the U.S. military said in a written statement.

Militants used a suicide car bombing to attack an observation point, 
wounding one Marine. Two other car bombs were stopped and destroyed by 
Marines firing from observation posts, the military said. (Watch troops 
under fire in governor's compound -- 2:45)

Insurgents also fired on the compound from a mosque about 330 yards (300 
meters) away in the center of the city with rocket-propelled grenades and 
machine guns.

The Marines called for air support against the fire coming from the mosque, 
but ground forces arrived first.

"The Marines returned fire but continued to be attacked from the mosque's 
minaret," the military statement said. "The Marines fired one 120 mm tank 
round and several 7.62 mm machine-gun rounds into the minaret, after which 
fire from the mosque ceased."

CNN correspondent Arwa Damon said she saw two tank rounds fired into the 
mosque.

"This is the fourth time in three-and-a-half weeks that the Ramadi 
Government Center has received attacks from the Fatemat Mosque," said Lt. 
Col. Stephen M. Neary, commander of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

He said the Marines "only used the proportionate amount of force necessary."

"Coalition forces take significant measures to respect all religious sites," 
said Lt. Col. Bryan Salas, a Marine spokesman. "But we always maintain the 
inherent right of self-defense.

"When insurgents use holy places as safe havens from which to attack 
coalition forces, it is important that we act quickly to defend ourselves 
and innocent Iraqi civilians," he said.

U.S. military officials said some insurgents were killed in the mosque, but 
had no specific figures. The Marines also said they killed a three-man 
mortar team during the hourlong fight.

The governor was at the compound Monday but was not injured.

It was just another day in the restive provincial capital, where officials 
said the compound sometimes comes under attack four of five times daily.

Central Ramadi is the most dangerous part of the restive city, which is home 
to three Iraqi army brigades and what a U.S. military commander described as 
a growing police force.

Western Iraq's sprawling Anbar province has been the scene of some of the 
worst fighting in the 3-year-old Iraqi war.

Signs of torture

The violence in Iraq was taking place in a political vacuum left as 
politicians negotiate the formation of a unity government four months after 
parliamentary elections.

Iraq's parliament, the 275-member Council of Representatives, had originally 
been scheduled to meet Monday, but Speaker Adnan Pachachi said the session 
would be delayed a "few days." (Full story)

Police on Monday found 18 bodies in Baghdad, including a prominent Sunni 
politician's brother who had been missing about three weeks.

Taha Mutlaq, who disappeared in late March, had been shot several times in 
the head and appeared to have been tortured, police said.

His brother, Saleh Mutlaq, is the head of the National Dialogue Front, which 
won 11 seats in Iraq's parliament.

Police also found 17 unidentified bodies around the capital, all of them 
shot in the head and showing signs of torture.

Twelve of the bodies were discovered in Dora, a Sunni district in southern 
Baghdad.

Two other bodies were found in Khadhamiya, a Shiite area of northern 
Baghdad, and three turned up in the Shu'la neighborhood in northwestern 
Baghdad.

The discovery of bodies killed in similar fashion has been a regular 
occurrence in Baghdad since sectarian violence flared after an attack on a 
revered Shiite mosque February 22.

Attacks kill 4 civilians

Police said fighting between Iraqi security forces and insurgents broke out 
in the Adhamiya district in northern Baghdad on Monday, resulting in the 
deaths of three civilians.

A police station came under fire around 1 a.m., and Iraqi army units closed 
the area about four hours later for a security sweep.

In addition to the three civilians killed in the crossfire, eight people 
were wounded.

Also Monday, a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol in central 
Baghdad, killing one civilian. One Iraqi soldier and two other civilians 
were wounded, police said.

Other developments

Saddam Hussein sat silently in court Monday as prosecutors presented a 
report from handwriting experts that linked the former dictator to a 
document approving rewards for intelligence agents involved in a crackdown 
on Shiites, according to The Associated Press. Hussein's lawyers objected to 
the report, requesting analysis by outside experts. The trial was adjourned 
until Wednesday. (Full story)

The media skirmishes over Donald Rumsfeld continued Monday, as four retired 
U.S. generals wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal defending 
the embattled secretary of defense and suggesting that some of his critics 
don't understand the war on terrorism. (Full story)
CNN's Arwa Damon, Aneesh Raman and Auday Sadik contributed to this report.