Home>News Center>World
             
     

    Iraqi fighters shoot down US helicopter
    (Agencies)
    Updated: 2004-08-05 21:31

    Fighters loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr shot down a U.S. helicopter on Thursday in fierce clashes in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf that threatened to unravel a deal to end an uprising led by the radical cleric.

    It was the heaviest fighting seen in Najaf since Sadr's rebellion in April and May. The city is home to the holiest shrines in Shi'ite Islam, and most Iraqi Shi'ites react with outrage when clashes erupt near the sacred sites.


    A U.S. Marine helicopter is grounded in Najaf Iraq, after being shot down during fighting in the southern Iraqi city in this image taken from TV Thursday Aug. 5, 2004. A U.S. military spokesman said no one was killed in the incident. [AP]

    Sadr's supporters in the Basra also took to the streets and threatened attacks unless comrades they said had been detained by British forces were released. Armed followers of Sadr also took to the streets of Shi'ite areas of Baghdad.

    A U.S. military spokesman said the crew of the downed helicopter were wounded and evacuated. Sadr's aides said the cleric's Mehdi Army militia had shot down the aircraft.

    Iraq's health ministry said at least two people were killed in the fighting and eight wounded. One person was also killed and four wounded when a mortar round hit a hospital in the city.

    An aide to Iraq's most revered Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said Sistani was receiving treatment in Najaf for heart problems and the clashes could affect his health.

    "There is fear that what is happening in Najaf might affect the medical care he needs," Hamed Khafaf told Reuters.

    HEAVY FIGHTING

    The U.S. military said fighting began overnight when a police station was attacked by "a significant number of aggressors" believed to be members of the Mehdi Army militia.

    The statement said the attackers used heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and small arms in an assault on the police station around 3 a.m. (2300 GMT Wednesday).


    Armed Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen patrol a street in the impoverished eastern Baghdad suburb of al-Sadr city, August 5, 2004. Hundreds of al-Sadr followers took to the streets of the Iraqi capital condemning the fighting between U.S forces and Sadr's Mehdi army militia in Najaf. [Reuters]

    "Iraqi national guardsmen quickly reinforced Iraqi police, and the two units successfully defended the station from the attackers. Upon arrival of the marines, Mehdi Army members withdrew into the city's exclusion zone," the military said.

    "The attack is an overt violation of the cease-fire agreement reached in June between coalition forces and Moqtada Sadr."

    But Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani, a spokesman for Sadr, said U.S. forces and Iraqi police had attacked first.

    As part of the truce agreed in June to end Sadr's uprising, U.S. troops said they would not enter parts of Najaf. The U.S. 1st Infantry Division, which had been in charge of security in the area, has recently been replaced by a force of marines.

    An arrest warrant has been issued for Sadr in connection with the murder of a rival cleric in Najaf last year. But during truce negotiations with Sadr earlier this year, Iraqi officials said they would not seek his arrest.

    BOMB ATTACK

    In the mixed Sunni and Shi'ite town of Mahawil south of Baghdad, guerrillas detonated a car bomb and sprayed gunfire at a police station, killing at least six people and wounding 24, Iraqi government officials said.

    Interior ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim said three masked gunmen opened fire on the police station in the town, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, and then fled. A bomb in a minibus then exploded outside the building.

    Kadhim said two senior police officers were also shot dead on Thursday in the town of Musayyib, near Mahawil.


    Armed Iraqi Shi'ite militiamen, followers of the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, patrol the streets of the eastern Baghdad suburb of Al Sadr city, August 5, 2004. [Reuters]
    Police and Iraqi National Guardsmen have been frequent targets of bomb attacks by guerrillas opposed to the U.S.-backed government and the presence of U.S.-led troops in Iraq.

    On Wednesday, guerrillas fought street battles with police in the northern city of Mosul after launching attacks on a police station, a power plant and a hospital.

    The U.S. military said in a statement eight insurgents were killed during about three hours of clashes, but more than 14 civilians had also been killed and 31 wounded.

    Last Sunday, a suicide car bomb attack on a police station in Mosul killed five people.

    HOSTAGE STALEMATE

    There was no new word on the fate of three Indians, three Kenyans and an Egyptian held by kidnappers who have threatened to behead them one by one. The kidnappers want the Kuwaiti firm that employs the men to stop doing business in Iraq and to pay compensation to the victims of U.S. strikes in Falluja.

    Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company, which employs the men, issued a statement on Wednesday calling on the kidnappers to resume talks with tribal leader Sheikh Hisham al-Dulaymi, who has been acting as a mediator. The talks stalled after the guerrillas accused the firm of not taking them seriously.

    Earlier this week four Jordanians and two Turks being held hostage in Iraq were freed. A local tribal chief led a raid to free the Jordanians in the city of Falluja, and the captors of the two Turks said they were being released.

    Scores of hostages from two dozen countries have been seized in the last four months. Most have been freed but at least 10 have been killed, sometimes by beheading.

    Turkish media said a Turkish truck driver was killed by guerrillas in Iraq this week after his convoy came under fire. NTV television said Osman Alisan, who had just delivered fuel oil to U.S. forces in Iraq, was shot dead on Monday in Filfayl, about 40 miles from the Turkish border.



     
      Today's Top News     Top World News
     

    Farmers reap macro policy rewards

     

       
     

    Shopkeeper punished for fake milk powder

     

       
     

    Japan urged to pay weapons compensation

     

       
     

    Unsafe injections kill 390,000 prematurely

     

       
     

    Parliament exchange pushes Sino-US ties

     

       
     

    Kindergarten attack victims recovering

     

       
      UK arrests include top Qaeda suspect
       
      WTO deals new blow to 'big power' farm subsidies
       
      French photo legend Cartier-Bresson dead
       
      Stressed Israeli soldiers to be treated with cannabis
       
      Fiji's vice president convicted in coup
       
      Iraq coalition vows no more kidnap concessions
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      News Talk  
      How Kerry Can Beat Bush  
    Advertisement
             
    日韩av无码中文字幕| 中文字幕亚洲一区| 亚洲中文字幕无码中文字在线| 少妇极品熟妇人妻无码| 亚洲AV无码一区二区二三区入口 | 久久久无码精品亚洲日韩京东传媒 | 亚洲AV无码一区二三区| 少妇人妻无码专区视频| 日韩欧美成人免费中文字幕| 中文字幕亚洲精品无码| 国产99久久九九精品无码| 国产成人无码AV一区二区| 伊人热人久久中文字幕| 久别的草原在线影院电影观看中文 | 久久激情亚洲精品无码?V| 亚洲AV无码一区东京热久久 | 国产午夜精华无码网站 | 亚洲精品无码专区久久久| 中文字幕亚洲第一在线| 中文字幕精品一区二区精品| 久久中文精品无码中文字幕 | 被夫の上司に犯中文字幕 | 亚洲Aⅴ无码一区二区二三区软件 亚洲?V无码乱码国产精品 | 国产Av激情久久无码天堂| 亚洲av无码一区二区乱子伦as | 亚洲AV无码第一区二区三区 | 色综合AV综合无码综合网站| 红桃AV一区二区三区在线无码AV | 亚洲情XO亚洲色XO无码| 精品久久久久久无码不卡| 久久中文字幕无码专区| 亚洲日本中文字幕一区二区三区| 最近2019年免费中文字幕高清 | 亚洲国产一二三精品无码| 人妻少妇无码精品视频区| 国产品无码一区二区三区在线蜜桃 | 精品亚洲成α人无码成α在线观看 | 久久亚洲精品无码VA大香大香| 在线天堂中文新版www| 欧洲精品无码一区二区三区在线播放| 中文字幕久久亚洲一区|