New attacks, new resentment in Iraq
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July 28 -- U.S. forces put more pressure on Saddam Hussein, raiding properties in Baghdad and Tikrit and claiming he's unable to mount a resistance because he’s on the run. NBC's Richard Engel reports.
Bridge blown, more soldiers hit, civilians killed
MSNBC NEWS SERVICES
BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 28 — U.S. troops continued their search for Saddam Hussein on Monday, but they also faced new attacks and new resentment, especially after one Baghdad operation left at least five Iraqi civilians dead. One attack — a grenade dropped from a bridge on top of a military Humvee in downtown Baghdad — badly wounded, and possibly killed, at least two U.S. soldiers.
IN A SECOND attack Monday, insurgents north of Baghdad floated a bomb down a river on a palm log and detonated it under a bridge the military had been repairing.
No injuries were reported, but it was believed to have been the first such attack by insurgents on a bridge.
The bridge was a major link over the Diala River, a Tigris tributary, carrying traffic between Baquoba and Tikrit, both hotbeds of resistance in the so-called “Sunni Triangle.” The region, stretching north and west from Baghdad is a major center of support for Saddam.
Earlier Monday, a U.S. officer said two of his men had been badly wounded in the grenade attack, but declined to say whether they had died. Iraqi police said the two were dead. At least one witness said three soldiers were involved.
Other soldiers surrounded the Humvee after the attack with rifles at the ready. One soldier was slumped motionless in the back seat of the vehicle and another lay in the road. Neither received any medical attention and they were later driven away in the back of a truck, one covered in blood.
Since May 1, when Washington declared major combat over in Iraq, 49 U.S. soldiers have been confirmed killed in guerrilla attacks. In the past 10 days, the U.S. military has confirmed the deaths of 16 soldiers in hostile action, making it the bloodiest period for U.S. forces since Saddam was toppled in April.
‘AMERICANS BUILT WALL’
In another section of Baghdad, residents complained to reporters about how U.S. troops on Sunday night had handled a raid by Task Force 20, the special unit hunting Saddam and his inner circle.
The troops came away empty-handed, but left five civilians dead in the shattered wrecks of cars.
Several residents said the Americans had erected a single roadblock leading to the house but failed to prevent innocent motorists from straying into the fire zone via quiet side streets. They accused the troops of machine-gunning two cars, killing the occupants.
“The cars came down the road. They didn’t know the Americans were here. They were normal civilians and wanted to go home,” one witness said. “They [U.S. soldiers] opened fire right away.”
Another resident, who gave his name only as Mohammed, said that “all these things are making people hate the Americans.
“In the beginning,” he added, “all the Iraqi people welcomed the Americans. But now the Americans have built a wall between themselves and the Iraqis.”
“They need to have barbed wire up so that people know there is an operation,” another witness said. “This is a residential area. They need to take care of the civilians. There are kids here.”
In minutes, the shooting was over and the soldiers withdrew. “They just left,” one resident said. “Then the Iraqi firemen came to put out the fires.”
Task Force 20 had raided the home of Prince Rabiah Muhammed al-Habib, one of Iraq’s most influential tribal leaders. “I found the house was searched in a very rough way. It seems the Americans came thinking Saddam Hussein was inside my house,” said al-Habib said, who wasn’t at home at the time of the raid.
SEARCH FOR SADDAM
While the Baghdad raid didn’t turn up Saddam, U.S. officials are sounding optimistic that will happen.
“We’re close to catching Saddam. A lot of people are stepping forward with information. He’s running out of places to hide,” spokeswoman Sergeant Amy Abbot said on Monday.
At least twice in the past week, American soldiers have raided houses where they believed they may have missed Saddam by less than 24 hours.
“The noose is tightening around these guys,” Col. James C. Hickey, a brigade commander, said Sunday. “They’re running out of places to hide, and it’s becoming difficult for them to move because we’re everywhere. Any day now we’re going to knock on their door, or kick in their door, and they know it.”
After the firefight on Tuesday in which Odai and Qusai Hussein were killed, intelligence sources reported Saddam was at a different location in the same city. Elements of the 101st Airborne Division mounted another raid, a military official familiar with the operation told AP.
“We missed him by a matter of hours,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
On Sunday, 4th Infantry Division troops moved in on three farms in the Tikrit area in search of Saddam’s new security chief, and perhaps the ousted dictator himself.
“We missed him by 24 hours,” said Lt. Col. Steve Russell, who led the operation that was witnessed by an Associated Press reporter.
Hundreds of soldiers, backed by Bradley fighting vehicles, surrounded the farms as Apache attack helicopters hovered above. No shots were fired as about 25 men emerged from the houses peacefully. They were detained briefly and released.
The raid was prompted by Thursday’s capture in Tikrit of a group of men believed to include as many as 10 Saddam bodyguards. Soldiers learned from them that Saddam’s new security chief — and possibly the dictator himself — were staying at one of the farms, Russell said.
INCREASED INTELLIGENCE
July 27 — Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Tim Russert that the deaths of Saddam’s sons have yielded increased intelligence from the Iraqi people.
There had been hope the killings last Tuesday of Odai and Qusai might demoralize the resistance. Instead, their deaths appear to have inspired a wave of revenge attacks.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said U.S. officials thought there would be a spike in violence following the sons’ deaths, but there also has been a beneficial increase in information coming in from Iraqi informants.
“In the last week alone we’ve picked up 660 surface-to-air missiles. That’s a product of the increased intelligence the Iraqi people are providing,” Wolfowitz said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Wolfowitz said that with time Iraqis may give Americans more with sensitive information, which could lead to getting Saddam.
“It takes time for them to trust us to give us the information,” Wolfowitz said. “But they’re giving us more and more. I think what happened last week with the deaths of those two miserable creatures is encouraging more people to come forward.”
Asked whether the Bush administration was confident Saddam would be captured or killed soon, Wolfowitz said: “We’re going to go after him until we get him, and it’s a mistake to put timetables on these things.”
Eliminating Saddam could tamp down anti-American violence, too, he said. “Getting rid of Saddam Hussein will have more effect than any single thing we can do.” |
