Heavy casualties for Marines as Iraq fighting rages
By Joshua Chaffin in Washington and Christopher Adams in London
Published: April 5 2004 8:00 | Last Updated: April 7 2004 1:15
Coalition forces on Tuesday suffered one of their bloodiest days in Iraq since major combat operations were declared over nearly a year ago, as a two-front insurgency continued to rage across the country.
About a dozen US Marines were believed to have been killed in Ar Ramadi, according to the Pentagon. The attack, which was believed to have been launched against a position occupied by the Marines, appeared to demonstrate a new brazenness on the part of insurgents.
It came west of Falluja, another restive Sunni city where US troops were reportedly fighting house-to-house on Tuesday and calling in air strikes after residents last week murdered and mutilated four western contractors. As many as 34 Iraqis were reportedly killed there, including some women and children.
President George W. Bush again stressed his determination to crush the insurrection, as well as another unleashed by radical Shia Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
"We have got tough work there because you see there are terrorists there who would rather kill innocent people than allow for the advance of freedom," Mr Bush said.
Tony Blair, British prime minister, is to travel to Washington next week to hold talks with Mr Bush as concerns mount that Iraq could fall into chaos three months before the coalition is scheduled to hand over sovereignty to an interim government.
In London, Mr Blair echoed US condemnation of Mr Sadr, calling him "an extremist, a fanatic who doesn't want what the majority of Shia want". Mr Bush and Mr Blair both reaffirmed their commitment to the transfer of sovereignty on June 30.
Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, faced calls from opposition leaders demanding that Italian forces be withdrawn after 12 Italian soldiers were injured in fighting in the southern town of Naseriya. Mr Berlusconi said: "It is unthinkable to flee the mission we have started. We would leave the country in chaos."
A Ukrainian soldier was killed after an attack in Kut, while Spanish, Bulgarian and Polish forces also saw action.
Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defence, allowed the possibility that additional US troops could be headed to Iraq. When asked if US commanders there had sufficient resources, Mr Rumsfeld replied: "They will decide what they need and they will get what they need."
Meanwhile, John Kerry, Democratic presidential nominee, continued attacks on Mr Bush for his handling of Iraq. Mr Kerry called the June 30 deadline "arbitrary", and suggested the White House may have chosen it on the basis of electoral considerations at home. "They wanted to get the troops out and get the transfer out of the way as fast as possible without regard to the stability of Iraq," he said.
Additional reporting by Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington |
