現在地 HOME > 掲示板
> 戦争55 > 144.html
★阿修羅♪
|
現在地 HOME > 掲示板
> 戦争55 > 144.html
★阿修羅♪
|
|
| Tweet |
(回答先: 聖地ナジャフの古代墓地深くに米軍戦車突入【Reuters】-イラクの全般情勢 投稿者 木田貴常 日時 2004 年 5 月 14 日 19:38:08)
U.S. tanks charge into center of Najaf
Blast northeast of Baghdad kills tribal leader
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4899904/
Mohammed Uraibi / AP
Iraqis took cover Wednesday as smoke rose above the holy shrine of Imam Hussein in the center of Karbala after fighting between U.S. soldiers and militiamen loyal to a radical Shiite cleric erupted in the holy Iraqi city.
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 03:27 AM PT May14, 2004
NAJAF, Iraq - American tanks charged into the center of this holy city on Friday and shelled positions held by fighters loyal to a radical cleric who launched an uprising against the U.S.-led coalition last month. Explosions and gunfire rocked neighborhoods, and civilians scurried for cover.
advertisement
The U.S. attack in Najaf represented a major push against cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose forces fought intense battles with American forces this week in another holy city, Karbala. The intensifying battles have eclipsed efforts by Iraqi political and tribal leaders to seek a peaceful solution to the confrontation ahead of a planned transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30.
Cemetary fighting
Much of the fighting in Najaf happened in the city's vast cemetery, a maze of footpaths and tombs that offers ample hiding space for militiamen armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. Several tanks rumbled into the cemetery, and American troops moved along main roads in the city near the Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. U.S. helicopters and a jet fighter flew over the city.
In his weekly sermon at Friday prayers in Kufa, al-Sadr again condemned the United States.
American tanks had blocked off the roads between the two cities, and it was unclear when and how al-Sadr traveled from his office in Najaf to Kufa. The cleric launched an uprising against the U.S.-led coalition in early April, taking over government buildings and police stations in Baghdad and several southern cities.
In the sermon, al-Sadr described President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a key ally of Washington in the occupation of Iraq, as "the heads of tyranny."
Al-Sadr said the two leaders had paid attention to what he described as the "fabricated" case of Nicholas Berg, an American civilian who was beheaded by militants, and had ignored the suffering of Iraqis in prisons controlled by coalition troops.
The cleric also condemned Iraqis who cooperate with the Americans and "are willing to execute the occupiers' orders."
The young cleric lacks the spiritual stature of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, and his confrontational tactics have exasperated moderate Shiites who want an end to the fighting. Still, al-Sadr has the support of thousands of mainly poor, urban Shiites and he has capitalized on hostility toward the coalition that escalated after revelations of abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers.
Also Friday, more than 300 Iraqi detainees were released from Abu Ghraib prison, a day after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made a surprise visit.
In Najaf, militiamen took cover at street corners and retreated into alleyways and residential areas. Young men gathered in some places to watch the fighting, and smoke rose from at least two locations.
Residents reported intermittent gunfire in Karbala on Friday as U.S. soldiers again clashed with militiamen of al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army. But fighting was not as intense as in previous days.
Peace efforts
On Thursday, Muslim clerics and political leaders in Karbala named Shakir Abdul-Amir, a former major general in Saddam's army, to mediate an end to the fighting. U.S. officials have said they would welcome Iraqis who wanted to resolve the conflict with al-Sadr peacefully, but there was no indication that such negotiating efforts were yielding results.
Al-Sadr's militia became a major problem for the United States in early April, when his fighters swept across the Shiite heartland south of Baghdad, capturing police stations and government buildings.
A U.S. Marine assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force died of non-hostile causes on Thursday, and the death was under investigation, the U.S. command said. The Marines operate in Anbar province, a region west of Baghdad that includes Fallujah and other former strongholds of Saddam Hussein where insurgents are active.
As of Thursday, 773 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 563 died as a result of hostile action and 210 died of non-hostile causes.
It was unclear if the latest death was in the Pentagon count.
Tribal leader killed
Northeast of Baghdad, a bomb exploded in front of the house of a tribal chief, killing him and one of his daughters. The motive for the killing in Muqdadiyah of Roukan Mughir, head of the Miahi tribe, was unclear. However, residents said he had been cooperating with American forces.
Iraqi insurgents often target Iraqis viewed as collaborators with the coalition.
Another daughter and a son of the chief were injured in the blast, hospital officials said.
On Thursday, the U.N. elections chief said in Baghdad that an electoral law and an independent election commission must be established by the end of the month if Iraq can hold elections in January 2005 as planned. Carina Perelli also said a stable security environment was vital to the fledgling democratic process.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
題名には必ず「阿修羅さんへ」と記述してください。