medicineman
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by Khalil Jalil 22 minutes ago
BAGHDAD (AFP) - US jets and helicopters bombed Baghdad's largest Shiite slum on Wednesday in a deadly strike targeting Iranian-backed militia, as thousands of pilgrims thronged the streets of the Iraqi capital.
The American military estimated that 30 "terrorists" were killed in the overnight strike on Sadr City, but families complained that women and children were among the dead, and angry mourners gathered to bury simple wooden caskets.
Helicopters and warplanes were called in after Iraqi and US ground troops arrested 12 members of a cell that US commanders believe smuggled in weapons and explosives from Iran, and sent militants to Iran for training.
"The assault force and the overhead aerial support observed a vehicle and a large group of armed men on foot attempting an assault on the ground forces," the military said in a statement.
"Responding appropriately to the threat of the organised terrorist force, close air support was called and engaged the terrorist vehicle and organised terrorist force, killing an estimated 30 terrorists," it added.
Families said 11 people were killed in the US strike in the teeming slum, a stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, including three children and four women. At least one house and a truck were heavily damaged.
But the military said all those killed -- another two gunmen were shot dead -- or captured were thought to belong to a rogue militia cell known for bringing among other things, explosively formed penetrators or EFPs, from Iran.
EFPs fire a ball of molten metal capable of destroying heavily armoured vehicles, and have been responsible for hundreds of American deaths in Iraq.
The strike was announced just as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran for two days of talks on ways to improve security in his country.
During his visit, Maliki was due to meet all of Iran's top leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and national security chief Ali Larijani, the state IRNA agency reported.
In Baghdad, hundreds of thousands of Shiites converged on the war-torn capital, marching through the streets under stringent security and punishing heat to commemorate the death of a revered imam.
Iraq banned all vehicle traffic in the capital to guard against the vicious car bombings that routinely target Shiite crowds and have spread carnage at previous religious events, as security forces manned checkpoints.
Two years ago, at least 965 people were killed when fears of attack during the same pilgrimage triggered a stampede on a bridge over the Tigris river.
Set to last three days, the curfew cloaked the sweltering streets of Baghdad in eerie calm while men, women dressed from head to toe in black, and children walked past armoured vehicles and gun-touting soldiers to Musa Kadhim's tomb.
Well-wishers set up stalls offering tea, cold drinks and fresh oranges to the pilgrims, while a group of children pushed their disabled father along in a wheelchair and Red Crescent paramedics stood by in case of disaster.
"Despite the security situation and the probable danger, this is a special occasion for us that we can't miss and one of the most important Shiite events," said Haidar Abdul Hussein, 33, from the neighbourhood of Karrada.
Some 85,000 Iraqi and US troops have deployed in Baghdad since February to flush out Sunni extremists and Shiite militias, but the number of civilians killed has remained high and rose last month to pre-surge levels.
Any major attack at this year's commemoration would be a further blow for Maliki's shrinking government, now boycotted by 17 ministers from a spectrum of Shiite, Sunni and non-sectarian parties.
Civilians are forbidden to carry weapons and Iraqi security forces tightly controlled the route to the imam's mausoleum in the Kadhimiyah district.
Kadhim was the seventh of the 12 Shiite imams and died in Baghdad in 799 after he was poisoned in prison. Every year tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims mark his passing by visiting his tomb in Kadhimiyah. At least three people were killed in random attacks around Iraq on Wednesday, while Britain announced the deaths of two soldiers in attacks this week in the southern region of Basra.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - US jets and helicopters bombed Baghdad's largest Shiite slum on Wednesday in a deadly strike targeting Iranian-backed militia, as thousands of pilgrims thronged the streets of the Iraqi capital.
The American military estimated that 30 "terrorists" were killed in the overnight strike on Sadr City, but families complained that women and children were among the dead, and angry mourners gathered to bury simple wooden caskets.
Helicopters and warplanes were called in after Iraqi and US ground troops arrested 12 members of a cell that US commanders believe smuggled in weapons and explosives from Iran, and sent militants to Iran for training.
"The assault force and the overhead aerial support observed a vehicle and a large group of armed men on foot attempting an assault on the ground forces," the military said in a statement.
"Responding appropriately to the threat of the organised terrorist force, close air support was called and engaged the terrorist vehicle and organised terrorist force, killing an estimated 30 terrorists," it added.
Families said 11 people were killed in the US strike in the teeming slum, a stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, including three children and four women. At least one house and a truck were heavily damaged.
But the military said all those killed -- another two gunmen were shot dead -- or captured were thought to belong to a rogue militia cell known for bringing among other things, explosively formed penetrators or EFPs, from Iran.
EFPs fire a ball of molten metal capable of destroying heavily armoured vehicles, and have been responsible for hundreds of American deaths in Iraq.
The strike was announced just as Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Tehran for two days of talks on ways to improve security in his country.
During his visit, Maliki was due to meet all of Iran's top leaders, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and national security chief Ali Larijani, the state IRNA agency reported.
In Baghdad, hundreds of thousands of Shiites converged on the war-torn capital, marching through the streets under stringent security and punishing heat to commemorate the death of a revered imam.
Iraq banned all vehicle traffic in the capital to guard against the vicious car bombings that routinely target Shiite crowds and have spread carnage at previous religious events, as security forces manned checkpoints.
Two years ago, at least 965 people were killed when fears of attack during the same pilgrimage triggered a stampede on a bridge over the Tigris river.
Set to last three days, the curfew cloaked the sweltering streets of Baghdad in eerie calm while men, women dressed from head to toe in black, and children walked past armoured vehicles and gun-touting soldiers to Musa Kadhim's tomb.
Well-wishers set up stalls offering tea, cold drinks and fresh oranges to the pilgrims, while a group of children pushed their disabled father along in a wheelchair and Red Crescent paramedics stood by in case of disaster.
"Despite the security situation and the probable danger, this is a special occasion for us that we can't miss and one of the most important Shiite events," said Haidar Abdul Hussein, 33, from the neighbourhood of Karrada.
Some 85,000 Iraqi and US troops have deployed in Baghdad since February to flush out Sunni extremists and Shiite militias, but the number of civilians killed has remained high and rose last month to pre-surge levels.
Any major attack at this year's commemoration would be a further blow for Maliki's shrinking government, now boycotted by 17 ministers from a spectrum of Shiite, Sunni and non-sectarian parties.
Civilians are forbidden to carry weapons and Iraqi security forces tightly controlled the route to the imam's mausoleum in the Kadhimiyah district.
Kadhim was the seventh of the 12 Shiite imams and died in Baghdad in 799 after he was poisoned in prison. Every year tens of thousands of Shiite pilgrims mark his passing by visiting his tomb in Kadhimiyah. At least three people were killed in random attacks around Iraq on Wednesday, while Britain announced the deaths of two soldiers in attacks this week in the southern region of Basra.
