Al-Sadr forces attack US convoy in Iraq

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&e=2&u=/ap/20040502/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

NAJAF, Iraq - Iraqi mediators attempted on Sunday to set up negotiations with American officials on ending the U.S. standoff with a radical Shiite Muslim cleric at Najaf, while his militiamen attacked a U.S. convoy further south. In Fallujah, residents and insurgents cheered the end of the U.S. siege.....

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But the top coalition official in Najaf, Phil Kosnett, insisted al-Sadr must "face justice" ....

Meanwhile, Marines who pulled back from enforcing a cordon on southern Fallujah had returned to their previous duties, patrolling outlying villages, giving way to a newly created Iraqi brigade that the Americans said would root out die-hard guerrillas in the Sunni militant stronghold.


The new "Fallujah Brigade," put together by former Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)-era generals, will likely include some former army soldiers who fought against the Marines over the past month, U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. James Conway said.



In Najaf, the local police chief, tribal leaders and the various political and religious groups have been meeting for three days to negotiate a settlement for police to take over security in the streets of Najaf, where al-Sadr's militia has for weeks held sway.

The new proposal calls for:

_ Withdrawal of coalition forces from the center of Najaf and the nearby city of Kufa

_ No American patrols in Najaf and Kufa

_ A guarantee al-Sadr's militia will refrain from shooting at coalition troops

_ An end to any armed presence in Najaf

_ Legal procedures against al-Sadr left for a new elected government

Al-Khazali said al-Sadr was also demanding the release of political prisoners.

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A number of Humvees and trucks were in flames after gunmen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked the convoy Sunday morning between the southern cities of Basra and Amarah, witnesses said. There was no immediate word on casualties.

The night before, militiamen clashed with British troops for several hours in Amarah, first attacking a patrol then firing rocket-propelled grenades at the British base. Five Iraqis were killed and six British soldiers were wounded in the gunbattles. On Sunday morning, al-Sadr forces fired mortars at the U.S. base in Najaf, causing no damage or casualties.

The clashes came as al-Sadr, in the holy city of Najaf, appeared to be looking for a way out of his confrontation with U.S. forces while avoiding arrest. Mediators said Najaf's police chief wanted to meet U.S. officials Sunday to present a five-point proposal.

But the top coalition official in Najaf, Phil Kosnett, insisted al-Sadr must "face justice" and said there were no plans for a Sunday meeting. "The coalition is not negotiating with anyone on any five-point plan," he said, though the coalition "meets with local officials every day to discuss the situation."

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Do they wear "al-Sadr" uniforms?

Do they shout out "this is for al-Sadr" above the noise of bullets and rpgs?

So many terms these days -

"insurgents"

"militiamen"

"gunmen"

"foreign elements"

"Saddam's Baathists"

"Anti-Coalition forces"

What do they do, pick out a "word of the week" ?????

I never heard of any "Grieving Family Members", "Local Citizens" and so on - but I'm SURE that some of these attacks are just small groups avenging the loss of family and friends.

Killing over 10,000 innocent citizens can do that!

Sh*t

And photos. To be humiliated
scorned, and brutalized would surely do that to a
human being, especially when given the chance to
retaliate? From here on in, it will be vengance
with a force and not pretty. This country is
going to have to face the consequences of it's
actions.

and wtf? He is beating it with his shoe?



An Iraqi man beats with his shoe a smouldering U.S. Army military truck outside the city of Amarah, southern Iraq (news - web sites), Sunday, May 2, 2004. Two American soldiers were killed in the attack when Shiite militiamen blasted their convoy with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades near the southern city of Amarah, 180 miles south of Baghdad, a senior military official said. (AP Photo/Nabil Al-Jurani)

Arabs, the sole of the foot is the most unclean part of the body. Until recent years, most Arabs lived in the desert where they raised sheep and camels. They did not have shoes, so they were walking on the filthy ground with their bare feet. Hence, showing the sole of a foot to an Arab is a grave insult. Touching an Arab with a shoe is a grave insult. Hitting the statue of Saddam with not just a shoe, but the sole of a shoe, probably would have been punished with the death of the offender's entire family.

The soles of the feet are also the furthest away from Allah...

Bottom line, THEY ARE PISSED!

as near as I can figure would be like pissing or spitting on someone. It's a form of degredation I think.