At lest 22 die in north Iraq clashes, curfews slapped on flashpoint cities
AFP: 11/10/2004
MOSUL, Iraq, Nov 10 (AFP) - At least 22 people were killed in a wave of violence in northern Iraq Wednesday, prompting the government to slap curfews on the Sunni Muslim cities of Mosul and Baiji.
The mayhem came as US troops ploughed through the rebel hub of Fallujah, saying they will have total control of the Sunni enclave in 48 hours in a battle Prime Minister Iyad Allawi claims is key to restoring order in the country.
Undermining this goal, rebels massed in other Sunni Muslim enclaves, with dozens of armed men surging into Mosul from different directions.
Around 50 men armed with automatic weapons and rocket launchers moved into the eastern Qadissiyah neighbourhood, while similar raids occured in the east, said an AFP correspondent in the city, 370 kilometres (230 miles) north of Baghdad.
In the main street, where the police station is located, the militants set up road blocks and began searching passers-by, he added.
Clashes between police and rebels left three people dead and four wounded, said Aref Abdel Karim, who is based at the main city hospital.
An Iraqi national guard was also shot dead in the street.
Small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades rained down on a US-led military convoy just west of the Al-Wahda neighbourhood. Soldiers returned fire and there were no US casualties, the military said.
Minutes later, a second convoy came under a similar attack in the southwest of the city. A security company employee was killed, a military spokesman said, without disclosing the person`s nationality.
The surge in lawlessness prompted the Nineveh provincial government to slap an indefinite curfew on Mosul, the main city in northern Iraq, which has been a hotbed of unrest since last year`s invasion.
"A curfew starts at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) until further notice. No one can cross bridges. Those who do will be shot and killed," said a statement broadcast on local television and radio.
The decision came after Allawi declared a state of emergency across most of Iraq, placed a blanket curfew on Fallujah and a night-time one in Baghdad.
Violence also erupted between insurgents and US and Iraqi forces in the majority Sunni town of Baiji, 200 kilometres (130 miles) north of Baghdad, leaving 10 people dead and 26 injured, and resulting in another curfew.
"There were 10 (civilians) killed, including three women, and 26 wounded, including two policemen, five children and a woman," said Dr Hussein al-Juburi at Baiji general hospital, 200 kilometres (130 miles) north of Baghdad.
Municipal council leader Hamed Hachem told AFP "a curfew has been in effect in town since midday and for an indefinite period, until order is re-established."
Roadblocks have been set up on roads into the town and troops are patrolling the streets to enforce the curfew, he said.
Rebels began skirmishes with Iraqi national guardsmen in the town centre on Tuesday afternoon, following a mortar attack on national guardsmen and US troops.
Police chief Ismail Mahmud al-Juburi said he expected the fighting to continue.
"I`m expecting more violence because of what`s happening in Fallujah," he said, referring to the massive assault on the rebel stronghold west of Baghdad begun by US and Iraqi forces on Monday.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb ripped through a national guard patrol in Tuz, 60 kilometres (36 miles) north of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, also in northern Iraq. Four guards were killed, said the chief of the force in the area, Anwar Mohammed.
Twenty minutes later, a second bomb exploded near a patrol that had been dispatched to the scene of the first blast, killing two, Mohammed added.
In a separate attack against an armoured US convoy north of Baghdad, one US soldier was killed and another wounded.
The relentless violence, against police and other targets associated with the interim goverment, further undermined efforts by Allawi to crush pockets of insurgency ahead of January elections.
The premier himself became a focus of the lawlessness, after his cousin and at least one of his cousin`s relatives were kidnapped on Tuesday by militants who purportedly threatened to kill them within 48-hours unless the Fallujah offensive is stopped and all Iraqi prisoners freed.
11/10/2004 15:59 GMT - AFP
AFP: 11/10/2004
MOSUL, Iraq, Nov 10 (AFP) - At least 22 people were killed in a wave of violence in northern Iraq Wednesday, prompting the government to slap curfews on the Sunni Muslim cities of Mosul and Baiji.
The mayhem came as US troops ploughed through the rebel hub of Fallujah, saying they will have total control of the Sunni enclave in 48 hours in a battle Prime Minister Iyad Allawi claims is key to restoring order in the country.
Undermining this goal, rebels massed in other Sunni Muslim enclaves, with dozens of armed men surging into Mosul from different directions.
Around 50 men armed with automatic weapons and rocket launchers moved into the eastern Qadissiyah neighbourhood, while similar raids occured in the east, said an AFP correspondent in the city, 370 kilometres (230 miles) north of Baghdad.
In the main street, where the police station is located, the militants set up road blocks and began searching passers-by, he added.
Clashes between police and rebels left three people dead and four wounded, said Aref Abdel Karim, who is based at the main city hospital.
An Iraqi national guard was also shot dead in the street.
Small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades rained down on a US-led military convoy just west of the Al-Wahda neighbourhood. Soldiers returned fire and there were no US casualties, the military said.
Minutes later, a second convoy came under a similar attack in the southwest of the city. A security company employee was killed, a military spokesman said, without disclosing the person`s nationality.
The surge in lawlessness prompted the Nineveh provincial government to slap an indefinite curfew on Mosul, the main city in northern Iraq, which has been a hotbed of unrest since last year`s invasion.
"A curfew starts at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) until further notice. No one can cross bridges. Those who do will be shot and killed," said a statement broadcast on local television and radio.
The decision came after Allawi declared a state of emergency across most of Iraq, placed a blanket curfew on Fallujah and a night-time one in Baghdad.
Violence also erupted between insurgents and US and Iraqi forces in the majority Sunni town of Baiji, 200 kilometres (130 miles) north of Baghdad, leaving 10 people dead and 26 injured, and resulting in another curfew.
"There were 10 (civilians) killed, including three women, and 26 wounded, including two policemen, five children and a woman," said Dr Hussein al-Juburi at Baiji general hospital, 200 kilometres (130 miles) north of Baghdad.
Municipal council leader Hamed Hachem told AFP "a curfew has been in effect in town since midday and for an indefinite period, until order is re-established."
Roadblocks have been set up on roads into the town and troops are patrolling the streets to enforce the curfew, he said.
Rebels began skirmishes with Iraqi national guardsmen in the town centre on Tuesday afternoon, following a mortar attack on national guardsmen and US troops.
Police chief Ismail Mahmud al-Juburi said he expected the fighting to continue.
"I`m expecting more violence because of what`s happening in Fallujah," he said, referring to the massive assault on the rebel stronghold west of Baghdad begun by US and Iraqi forces on Monday.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb ripped through a national guard patrol in Tuz, 60 kilometres (36 miles) north of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, also in northern Iraq. Four guards were killed, said the chief of the force in the area, Anwar Mohammed.
Twenty minutes later, a second bomb exploded near a patrol that had been dispatched to the scene of the first blast, killing two, Mohammed added.
In a separate attack against an armoured US convoy north of Baghdad, one US soldier was killed and another wounded.
The relentless violence, against police and other targets associated with the interim goverment, further undermined efforts by Allawi to crush pockets of insurgency ahead of January elections.
The premier himself became a focus of the lawlessness, after his cousin and at least one of his cousin`s relatives were kidnapped on Tuesday by militants who purportedly threatened to kill them within 48-hours unless the Fallujah offensive is stopped and all Iraqi prisoners freed.
11/10/2004 15:59 GMT - AFP
