The Iraq War 2003
Latest News & Views

US forces find suspicious white powder, WMD instructions

[Mewnews, April 4] U.S. troops found thousands of boxes of white powder, nerve agent antidote and Arabic documents on how to engage in chemical warfare at an industrial site south of Baghdad, within the the Latifiyah Explosives and Ammunition Plant al Qa Qaa.

Col. John Peabody, engineer brigade commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, said troops found thousands of boxes, each of which held three vials of white powder, together with Arabic  documents explaining how to engage in chemical warfare.

He also said they discovered atropine, used to counter the effects of nerve agents.

The facility had been identified by the International Atomic Energy Agency as a suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons site. U.N. inspectors visited the plant at least nine times, including as recently as Feb. 18. The site was bombed in the first Gulf war.

Blair: Iraq will be run by Iraqis
[Mewnews, April 4] In an open letter to the Iraqi people, British PM Tony Blair pledged Friday: 

"As soon as Saddam Hussein's regime falls, the work to build a new, free and united Iraq will begin," Blair says in the letter. "A peaceful, prosperous Iraq which will be run by and for the Iraqi people, not by America, not by Britain, not by the U.N.

"Our troops will leave as soon as they can," he said. "They will not stay a day longer than necessary."

In the letter, Blair also says revenue from Iraqi oil "will be used to build prosperity for you and your families."

The leaflet also promises that coalition troops will not withdraw and abandon Iraqis to their fate as they did in 1991, allowing Saddam to crush Shi'a and Kurd revolts that had been encouraged by allied leaflets and propaganda.

Britain is maneuvering between U.S. plans to have an American-controlled interim administration in the aftermath of the Iraq war and insistence from many European powers that the United Nations should be in charge.

In Brussels on Thursday, Secretary of State Colin Powell faced near unanimous demands from EU and NATO states to give the United Nations a key role in postwar Iraq but did not spell out how Washington would share power there.

Blair's official spokesman said the leaflet, in Arabic, would be distributed as widely as possible. It will be dashed out on print runs at a rate of 60,000 per day.

Palestinians: Bush listen very well, the Islam fighters will send you to hell."

[Mewnews, April 4] An AP report describes enthusiastic rallies held in Gaza in support of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and against the US-British led attack on Iraq. The Friday after-prayer rallies repeat the themes in last Friday's rallies, with the dissident Hamas group taking the lead, condemning US President Bush, the UN and the Arab League.

About 2,000 Hamas supporters marched in Gaza City from the Mosque to the city center,  waving Iraqi and Palestinian flags and carrying green Hamas banners.

Carrying two coffins - one with the words U.N. Security Council on it and the other with Arab League - the crowd chanted "Bush listen very well, the Islam fighters will send you to hell."

 "God willing, Baghdad will be the graveyard of the invaders," Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin told the crowd.

In other parts of Gaza, about 1,000 Palestinians marched in the Khan Younis refugee camp and another 2,000 took to the streets of Nusseirat refugee
camp to show their support for Iraq.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, about 1,500 Palestinians burned Israeli, American and British flags, as well as effigies of Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
 

New Suicide Attack Kills Pregnant Woman & 3 Soldiers

[Mewnews, April 4] A car exploded near a coalition checkpoint in Iraq, killing three
coalition soldiers, a pregnant woman and the car's driver, U.S. Central Command
said Friday.

      In a statement, Central Command said the incident occurred Thursday evening about 18 kilometers southwest of the Haditha Dam, when a civilian vehicle approached a coalition checkpoint. The dam is northwest of Baghdad, about 130 kilometers from the Iraq-Syria border.

      "A pregnant female stepped out of the vehicle and began screaming in fear," a statement said. "At this point the civilian vehicle exploded, killing three coalition force members who were approaching the vehicle and wounding two others."

      It said the woman and the driver were also killed.

      Jim Wilkinson, spokesman at U.S. Central Command, said the incident showed
the Iraqi regime was using desperate measures to remain in power. Previously, U.S. officials have said a man posing as a taxi driver staged a suicide attack that killed four soldiers at an Army checkpoint.
 

Kurds, US 30 KM from Mosul

[Mewnews, April 4]- Kurdish Peshmerga fighters seized a key bridge at Khazer near the major northern Iraqi oil center of Mosul on Friday. They crossed into the village under artillery fire from retreating Iraqi troops.Kurdish and U.S. forces were less than 30 KM (18 miles) from Mosul.

The Iraqis had struggled to hold Khazer since Thursday, after US bombardments forced them out of formidable hilltop positions at Kalak on the main road between Kurdish-controlled Irbil and Iraqi-controlled Mosul, the third-largest city in Iraq..

In the past week, Iraqi forces near the Kurdish zone have faced relentless air attacks and pulled back toward the two main northern districts in Baghdad hands: the commercial hub of Mosul and the important oil center around Kirkuk.

With fewer than 2,000 ground troops in the Western-protected Kurdish zone, the United States has relied on air strikes against the lraqis. The strategy has allowed Kurdish militiamen to advance unchallenged and keeps intact the U.S. pledge to Turkey to block any independent Kurdish offensive.

Iraqi Agents in Jordan Plotted To Poison Water Supply

[MewNews April 2]  Jordanian authorities say they have arrested several Iraqi agents who allegedly planned to poison the water supply that serves American troops in the eastern desert of Jordan, as a US miliary base in Khao, near Zarka. Officials said this plot was connected to the expulsion of three Iraqi diplomats in late March.

IWestern diplomats also said Monday that four Iraqis were arrested last week for allegedly planning to set fire to the Grand Hyatt Amman Hotel, where many American journalists — and some American military personnel — are staying. They set a blaze, but it was extinguished by the hotel's sprinkler sysem.

Fatwa: Shia Grand Ayatollah tells Shi'ites not to resist

[Mewnews, April 4] In a sign that Saddam's authority throughout Iraq may be crumbling, a senior Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued fatwa ordering believers not to oppose invasion troops, Sistani, who is known and respected throughout the Muslim world, had been held under house arrest by Saddam and previously,  had issued a statement urging Iraqis to resist the invasion.

Attack at Furah Causes Some Civilian Casualties

[Mewnews, April 4] A Reuters reporter said dozens of Iraqis, including some civilians, were killed and scores injured in the village of Furat north of Baghdad airport on Thursday evening after a barrage of U.S. artillery and rocket attacks.  Iraqi officials put the total death toll in and around the village at 83.

The reporter said, "We saw a pile of dead bodies at one of the four hospitals where the victims were taken. Most of them appeared to be military," he said. "But there were civilian casualties too."

The independent Qatari TV service, Al Jazeera TV, has curtailed its coverage of the Iraq war, after two of its reporters were forced to leave Baghdad, and the Iraqi government accused Al-Jazeera of being pro-American. Earlier, Al-Jazeera had attracted American ire for airing footage of US war prisoners, and an American had hacked its English Web site and substituted an American flag and a patriotic message. Al-Jazeera's English Web site was briefly visible today, but showed only reports from March 25.

US Forces control Saddam (Baghdad) Airport; take 2,500 prisoners

[Mewnews, April 4] U.S. troops have control Saddam International Airport in the southwest corner of Baghdad, according to a commanding officer. The officer said that while they are still cleaning up, the airport is in control. However, the runways have been rendered unusable for the present.

US sources said they had captured an additional 2,500 Republican Guard prisoners as resistance melted in the advance from Kut in the east and Najaf in the West.

Large sections of Baghdad lost power last night for the first time since the war began after huge explosions rocked the capital. According to Reuters, U.S. forces had discovered some sort of tunnel system under the airport and one tunnel led all the way back to the Tigris river.

On Thursday evening, Iraqi satellite television showed Saddam chairing a meeting. There was no way to verify when the footage was shot. A statement from Saddam claimed that victory is nigh.

Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf accused U.S. forces of killing 14 people with cluster bombs.

Sahaf said U.S. claims to be near Baghdad were "silly." "They've not been able to control any Iraqi city. We're waging a war of attrition against this snake and we will be victorious," he told a Baghdad news conference, before the announcement of US control of the airport.

US Forces Raid Saddam Palace in North Baghdad

[Mewnews, April 3]  U.S. special operations forces briefly raided a presidential palace Thursday north of Baghdad. They seizing important documents, overcoming light resistance, and retreated. The palace that was raided is the Thar Thar presidential palace about 56 miles northwest of Baghdad. Earlier, a spokesman said the palace was near Baghdad's Saddam airport in the southwest of the city.

Saddam Hussein April 4: Come to Jihad

[Mewnews April 4, 03] This speech by Iraqi President Saddam Husayn, was broadcast on Baghdad Iraqi Satellite Channel Television in Arabic at 18:25 Baghdad time. He was dressed in army fatigues. The reference to the shooting down of the helicopter indicates he is probably still alive and this speech must be recent.

In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate.

And ye shall fight them until there is no more uproar. [Qur'anic verse]
Oh great people, Oh men of our brave armed forces, Oh Iraqi youth, Oh mujahidin, who carry the honor and trust of the weapons of holy war; Oh glorious women in your beloved, dear Baghdad, which is glorious with its people: God's peace and blessings be upon you.

The enemy, Oh beloved ones, tries fruitlessly to confuse your steadfastness and heroic confrontation against him. Therefore, the enemy has started to cross the Armed Forces' defense lines around Baghdad, and around other Iraqi cities. He avoids any clash with these lines, or he may test them. If he finds these lines strong and unyielding, with the will of God as they really are, he avoids any clash with them. Instead, he goes around them and makes a landing here or there, as we had expected before.

In most cases, the landing or movement is on roads in small numbers of vehicles and evil soldiers. They can be resisted and destroyed by you with the weapons you have.
You probably are mindful of the brave Iraqi farmer who shot down a US Apache using an old rifle. Strike at your enemy strongly. Strike at your enemy with your strong faith wherever he comes close to you. Resist it -- Oh people of Baghdad, the steadfast and glorious city -- whenever your enemy comes close to you and dares to attack your beloved city, while relying on God, the Omnipotent Almighty. Defend your principles, nationalism, honor of men and women, and faith, as well as the honor pledged and promised.

You -- Oh dear ones, Oh people of Baghdad and people of Iraq -- are the banner of faith and glory. God willing, you will be victorious. God willing, they will be defeated, losers, and accursed.

God is great; pride be to God and victory be to Iraq. God is great. Long live our nation; long live Iraq; long live Iraq; long live Palestine. Come to Jihad.

Their dead will be in hell. Their survivors will be shrouded in disgrace. Our martyrs will be in paradise. Our survivors will be granted glory and pride. May God, the merciful and compassionate, grant you, Oh Iraqi men and glorious women, the people of Baghdad and the people of Iraq,- His glory and satisfaction.
God is great, God is great. Accursed be the criminals.