- Jan 10, 2002
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Brilliant.. just freakin Brilliant!!!!!!!!
Hunting Hussein, U.S. Attacks Mosque
By DEXTER FILKINS
AGHDAD, Iraq, April 10 ? American forces hunting Saddam Hussein attacked a mosque here today and later bombed it, but appear to have missed an opportunity to kill or capture members of the Iraqi leadership.
Army and Marine officials said they believed that Mr. Hussein may have been inside the Imam al-Adham mosque at the time of today's battle, which left one marine dead and more than 20 wounded.
The officials said early this morning that marines had surrounded a mosque and adjoining house in the Adhamiya neighborhood after reports that a wounded Mr. Hussein was inside, but their initial orders were not to advance on the buildings.
Later today the marines advanced on their target. In the battle, which lasted several hours, the marines took six or seven prisoners, believed to be Syrian, but officials said that three cars had managed to get away.
This afternoon, after the marines had left the site and locals had flocked to the spot, a bomb, apparently dropped by an American jet, landed on the Imam mosque and exploded, destroying its main dome.
Capt. Frank Thorp, a spokesman at the United States Central Command in Qatar, said today, "We had information that a group of regime leadership" was organizing a meeting.
In Washington, military officials confirmed that the marines had attacked a mosque and adjacent building in Baghdad where a suspected leadership group was reported to be gathering.
But officials at the White House, Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency said they had received no reports indicating that Mr. Hussein or either of his sons had been there.
After the battle there were two large holes in the mosque and a building across the street was burned out. Neighbors in the area said Mr. Hussein had paid a visit to the mosque, in central Baghdad, on Wednesday, when he stood on the roof of his car and greeted a throng of supporters.
"Saddam was here, and I kissed him," said a man standing across from the mosque this afternoon. He declined to give his name. "People were kissing his feet. They were cheering. There were 200 people there."
If the accounts were true, a public appearance by Mr. Hussein inside Baghdad would be a startling development. It could also suggest that the loyalties of Baghdad's people are still in play even after the American rout of the Iraqi government.
Army and Marine officials said they believed that Mr. Hussein or another senior leader had been taken to the mosque suffering from wounds. Some American officials said they believed that Mr. Hussein, who has survived numerous attempts at assassination, might have been wounded in the American attack on Monday in the Mansur area of Baghdad. American bombers dropped four bunker-busting 2,000-pound bombs on a compound there.
The man said Mr. Hussein arrived Wednesday afternoon, in a convoy of about 30 cars that included his son, Qusay, and the Iraqi defense minister, Sultan Hashem Ahmed. Mr. Hussein did not leave his car, but instead stood up through a sunroof in this sedan, the man said, climbing onto the roof and allowing local Iraqis to kiss his feet. He left after about one hour, the man said.
The man's story was endorsed by several local Iraqis who stood nearby.
As the men spoke, the bomb dropped. An Iraqi crowd, angered that the Americans had attacked a place of worship, attacked an American reporter at the scene, chasing him into his car and hurling rocks as he sped out of the neighborhood.
"Do you see the things your country does?" one man shouted.
Adhamiya, a relatively prosperous district, is one of many still unoccupied by American forces, which might make it easier for an Iraqi fugitive to hide there.
Intelligence officials said that with the collapse of the Baghdad government they had been besieged with reports and rumors about alleged sightings of the Iraqi leader, but added that none of them seemed credible. The officials said that the truthfulness of reports about Iraqi leaders was extremely difficult to assess given the chaos inside Iraq, but they expressed doubt that Mr. Hussein had been at the mosque.
One official said that sometimes intelligence reports from Iraq take from 6 to 18 hours to reach Washington, but they cautioned that information about high priority issues, like the whereabouts of senior officials, are usually passed quickly to senior officials.
Another official said it was unlikely that anyone could be traveling in a 30-vehicle convoy without attracting notice of American-led forces, or of surveillance satellites and the Predator drones feeding live video to command posts in the city.
At the Pentagon, a senior officer dismissed reports that the Iraqi leader or his son had been inside the mosque attacked by the marines as falling under the category of "mess-deck rumors." He said it has not been mentioned in operational reports reaching the Pentagon.
At the White House, a senior administration official said that there had been no reports of sightings of Mr. Hussein or his sons at the mosque.
"It's the kind of thing we are attuned to," the official said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/international/worldspecial/11WORS.html?ex=1050638400&en=aa397d67a2d7e4ef&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
Hunting Hussein, U.S. Attacks Mosque
By DEXTER FILKINS
AGHDAD, Iraq, April 10 ? American forces hunting Saddam Hussein attacked a mosque here today and later bombed it, but appear to have missed an opportunity to kill or capture members of the Iraqi leadership.
Army and Marine officials said they believed that Mr. Hussein may have been inside the Imam al-Adham mosque at the time of today's battle, which left one marine dead and more than 20 wounded.
The officials said early this morning that marines had surrounded a mosque and adjoining house in the Adhamiya neighborhood after reports that a wounded Mr. Hussein was inside, but their initial orders were not to advance on the buildings.
Later today the marines advanced on their target. In the battle, which lasted several hours, the marines took six or seven prisoners, believed to be Syrian, but officials said that three cars had managed to get away.
This afternoon, after the marines had left the site and locals had flocked to the spot, a bomb, apparently dropped by an American jet, landed on the Imam mosque and exploded, destroying its main dome.
Capt. Frank Thorp, a spokesman at the United States Central Command in Qatar, said today, "We had information that a group of regime leadership" was organizing a meeting.
In Washington, military officials confirmed that the marines had attacked a mosque and adjacent building in Baghdad where a suspected leadership group was reported to be gathering.
But officials at the White House, Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency said they had received no reports indicating that Mr. Hussein or either of his sons had been there.
After the battle there were two large holes in the mosque and a building across the street was burned out. Neighbors in the area said Mr. Hussein had paid a visit to the mosque, in central Baghdad, on Wednesday, when he stood on the roof of his car and greeted a throng of supporters.
"Saddam was here, and I kissed him," said a man standing across from the mosque this afternoon. He declined to give his name. "People were kissing his feet. They were cheering. There were 200 people there."
If the accounts were true, a public appearance by Mr. Hussein inside Baghdad would be a startling development. It could also suggest that the loyalties of Baghdad's people are still in play even after the American rout of the Iraqi government.
Army and Marine officials said they believed that Mr. Hussein or another senior leader had been taken to the mosque suffering from wounds. Some American officials said they believed that Mr. Hussein, who has survived numerous attempts at assassination, might have been wounded in the American attack on Monday in the Mansur area of Baghdad. American bombers dropped four bunker-busting 2,000-pound bombs on a compound there.
The man said Mr. Hussein arrived Wednesday afternoon, in a convoy of about 30 cars that included his son, Qusay, and the Iraqi defense minister, Sultan Hashem Ahmed. Mr. Hussein did not leave his car, but instead stood up through a sunroof in this sedan, the man said, climbing onto the roof and allowing local Iraqis to kiss his feet. He left after about one hour, the man said.
The man's story was endorsed by several local Iraqis who stood nearby.
As the men spoke, the bomb dropped. An Iraqi crowd, angered that the Americans had attacked a place of worship, attacked an American reporter at the scene, chasing him into his car and hurling rocks as he sped out of the neighborhood.
"Do you see the things your country does?" one man shouted.
Adhamiya, a relatively prosperous district, is one of many still unoccupied by American forces, which might make it easier for an Iraqi fugitive to hide there.
Intelligence officials said that with the collapse of the Baghdad government they had been besieged with reports and rumors about alleged sightings of the Iraqi leader, but added that none of them seemed credible. The officials said that the truthfulness of reports about Iraqi leaders was extremely difficult to assess given the chaos inside Iraq, but they expressed doubt that Mr. Hussein had been at the mosque.
One official said that sometimes intelligence reports from Iraq take from 6 to 18 hours to reach Washington, but they cautioned that information about high priority issues, like the whereabouts of senior officials, are usually passed quickly to senior officials.
Another official said it was unlikely that anyone could be traveling in a 30-vehicle convoy without attracting notice of American-led forces, or of surveillance satellites and the Predator drones feeding live video to command posts in the city.
At the Pentagon, a senior officer dismissed reports that the Iraqi leader or his son had been inside the mosque attacked by the marines as falling under the category of "mess-deck rumors." He said it has not been mentioned in operational reports reaching the Pentagon.
At the White House, a senior administration official said that there had been no reports of sightings of Mr. Hussein or his sons at the mosque.
"It's the kind of thing we are attuned to," the official said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/international/worldspecial/11WORS.html?ex=1050638400&en=aa397d67a2d7e4ef&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE
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