The United States Finds Few Non-Iraqis Among Insurgents | By Anna Mulrine | Posted 7/24/07
As President Bush continues to stress al Qaeda as the chief threat to Iraq's stability—a reprised effort to establish a link between al Qaeda in Iraq and the 9/11 attackers—U.S. military forces on the ground in Iraq are fighting a complex war in regions with vast networks of overlapping loyalties—and few foreign fighters. Most members of al Qaeda in Iraq, say commanders on the ground, are local Iraqi outcasts.
"I can count them [foreign fighters] as a total I have engaged, dead or alive, in the 10 months I've been here on one hand," says Col. David Sutherland, the U.S. commander of coalition forces in the hotly contested area of Diyala province, an insurgent stronghold region some 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. There, Sutherland says, those involved in al Qaeda are largely dispossessed locals, not jihadists who have come from elsewhere. "The recruiting program is [that] al Qaeda may send five or eight individuals into a village. They recruit from those who have no power base, no place in society," including, he adds, former male prostitutes and the mentally ill.
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Saturday, July 28, 2007
"Civilians began to flee and 27 or 28 of them were killed while fleeing NATO bombing ...
Dozens of Afghan civilians die in air raids: residents | Fri Jul 27, 6:32 AM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Dozens of civilians, including women and children, have been killed in two foreign air strikes in southern Afghanistan, residents and a local member of parliament said on Friday.
One of the raids by NATO hit houses in the Girishk district of Helmand province on Thursday evening, killing up to 50 civilians, a group of some 20 residents reported to journalists in Kandahar, the main city in the south.
Wali Jan Sabri, a parliamentarian from Helmand, said he had credible information that between 50 to 60 civilians had been killed in a battle between the Taliban and NATO forces in Girishk.
He said most of the victims were killed in air strikes.
"Yes, there was a battle ... and most of those killed were from NATO bombardment," he told Reuters.
The district chief of Girishk, Manaf Khan, said more than 20 civilians were killed in NATO bombing when they were trying to flee the battle.
"The fighting was fierce between Taliban and NATO," he told Reuters. "Civilians began to flee and 27 or 28 of them were killed while fleeing NATO bombing. I do not have information about the wounded," he said. ...
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Dozens of civilians, including women and children, have been killed in two foreign air strikes in southern Afghanistan, residents and a local member of parliament said on Friday.
One of the raids by NATO hit houses in the Girishk district of Helmand province on Thursday evening, killing up to 50 civilians, a group of some 20 residents reported to journalists in Kandahar, the main city in the south.
Wali Jan Sabri, a parliamentarian from Helmand, said he had credible information that between 50 to 60 civilians had been killed in a battle between the Taliban and NATO forces in Girishk.
He said most of the victims were killed in air strikes.
"Yes, there was a battle ... and most of those killed were from NATO bombardment," he told Reuters.
The district chief of Girishk, Manaf Khan, said more than 20 civilians were killed in NATO bombing when they were trying to flee the battle.
"The fighting was fierce between Taliban and NATO," he told Reuters. "Civilians began to flee and 27 or 28 of them were killed while fleeing NATO bombing. I do not have information about the wounded," he said. ...
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Afganistan: More civilians have been killed this year as a result of foreign military action than have been killed by insurgents
Saturday, June 23, 2007 by BBC News | Karzai Angry Over West’s Tactics | by BBC staff
Nato and US-led troops are failing to co-ordinate with their Afghan allies and thereby causing civilian deaths, President Hamid Karzai has said.
He criticised his Western allies’ “extreme” use of force and said they should act as his government asked.
“Innocent people are becoming victims of reckless operations” because the troops had ignored Afghan advice for years, Mr Karzai told reporters.
He was speaking after a week in which up to 90 Afghan civilians were killed.
“You don’t fight a terrorist by firing a field gun 37 kilometres (24 miles) away into a target. That’s definitely, surely bound to cause civilian casualties,” he said.
More civilians have been killed this year as a result of foreign military action than have been killed by insurgents, correspondents say. ...
Nato and US-led troops are failing to co-ordinate with their Afghan allies and thereby causing civilian deaths, President Hamid Karzai has said.
He criticised his Western allies’ “extreme” use of force and said they should act as his government asked.
“Innocent people are becoming victims of reckless operations” because the troops had ignored Afghan advice for years, Mr Karzai told reporters.
He was speaking after a week in which up to 90 Afghan civilians were killed.
“You don’t fight a terrorist by firing a field gun 37 kilometres (24 miles) away into a target. That’s definitely, surely bound to cause civilian casualties,” he said.
More civilians have been killed this year as a result of foreign military action than have been killed by insurgents, correspondents say. ...
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The attack climaxed the deadliest three-month period for the Americans since the war began.
Iraq Ambush Caps Bloodiest Months for US Email this StoryJun 29, 11:07 PM (ET) By ROBERT H. REID
BAGHDAD (AP) - A huge bomb explosion followed by a hail of gunfire and grenades killed five U.S. soldiers, the military said Friday. The attack climaxed the deadliest three-month period for the Americans since the war began.
Seven soldiers were wounded in the attack Thursday in the Rasheed district, a mixed Sunni-Shiite area of southern Baghdad where U.S.-led forces recently stepped up pressure on extremists. The commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad suggested the ambush could be part of an escalating backlash by Sunni insurgents.
Those deaths brought to 99 the number of U.S. troops killed this month, according to an Associated Press count. The toll for the past three months - 329 - made it the deadliest quarter for U.S. troops in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion. That surpasses the 316 soldiers killed during November 2004 to January 2005. ...
BAGHDAD (AP) - A huge bomb explosion followed by a hail of gunfire and grenades killed five U.S. soldiers, the military said Friday. The attack climaxed the deadliest three-month period for the Americans since the war began.
Seven soldiers were wounded in the attack Thursday in the Rasheed district, a mixed Sunni-Shiite area of southern Baghdad where U.S.-led forces recently stepped up pressure on extremists. The commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad suggested the ambush could be part of an escalating backlash by Sunni insurgents.
Those deaths brought to 99 the number of U.S. troops killed this month, according to an Associated Press count. The toll for the past three months - 329 - made it the deadliest quarter for U.S. troops in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion. That surpasses the 316 soldiers killed during November 2004 to January 2005. ...
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