Najaf Shrine Wall Hit by U.S. Fire-Shi'ite Cleric

[floda]

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A senior commander of Shi'ite militants holed up inside a Najaf shrine said the wall of the mosque was hit by U.S. fire on Sunday night.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Sheibani, who is also a top adviser to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, said it was hit during fighting.

It was not immediately possible to confirm the accusation independently. Serious damage to the shrine would enrage millions of Shi'ites around the world and give Sadr political ammunition in his rebellion against U.S. troops.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6037980

[Bluebear]

1. Great, enrage millions more

Ay yi yi.

[jdj]

10. This has gone from "Winning hearts and minds" to a combo of

Maya human sacrifice (hearts) and polynesian shrunken-head trophies (minds).

Or maybe that's what they meant in the first place.

[Bluebear]

2. How can they confirm, is there still press there?

[Webster Green]

4. Damn, that is one ugly shot of Michelle....

Hoo boy! Make her go away!

[Webster Green]

3. Nice!

Smirky's storm troopers are recruiting more terrorists.

Brilliant!

[cal04]

5. more terrorists and more anger

Ninety-three prominent Muslim figures opposed to US troops in Iraq have called on Muslims around the world to support resistance to US forces and to the Iraqi government installed in June. The statement came as US tanks rumbled to within 800 metres of a holy shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf, after fierce clashes with Shiite rebels in a nearby town reportedly killed at least 40 Iraqis.
Talks to end a near three-week Shiite Muslim uprising led by rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr appeared to have stalled after negotiators failed to agree on how to surrender control of the Imam Ali shrine, where Mehdi militias remain holed up.

[0rganism]

9. We can't have a War On Terror without 'em

Hip hip hooray for our side!

[Nordic]

15. bing bing bing!!

I do believe you've figured it out.

Your prize: An all expense paid trip to Cuba!

[never cry wolf]

6. Laura Flanders on AAR had an Iraqi on

He said the Imam Ali Mosque is under attack by US forces. All hell is breaking loose fellas.

Any ex or current military, or anyone else, wouldn't this be the kind of military/political/international relations decision that would go all the way to the top of the chain of command?

bunnypants starting WWIII.....

:scared: :scared: :nuke: :nuke:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. "My brave, moral Prizident says we need to get rid of the evil Dewars,

so bein a Patriet, I switched to Johnny Walker." me<<


don't blame you.... them evil dewars... bad juju... heh heh heh.... good job.


what is it when you have become your enemy.... have they accomplished their goal... or have you accomplished yours... eh George?

[UpInArms]

8. if this is true (and it would be incredibly stupid)

this makes the current instability look "stable".

[Junkdrawer]

11. Egyptian cleric warns US of Najaf fallout

A leading Egyptian Islamic leader has warned that a "volcano of anger" could explode in response to US-led military action in Najaf and Falluja.

In a statement on Saturday, Ali Gumaa, the mufti of Egypt and the country's highest authority on Islamic law, condemned the "continuing aggression by US-led forces on the Imam Ali shrine and Islamic holy places" in Iraq.

"After the attack on the shrines of the Prophet's noble companions, after the humiliations and the terrorizing and killing of civilians, the world cannot expect… that a volcano of anger and indignation will not explode," Gumaa said.
...

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AA843409-E1C1-47F9-9717-DF04DA8BC53A.htm

[Nordic]

14. Next: let's invade the Vatican

It's kinda similar

[seventhson]

12. OH SHIT!!!: "a big hole in the outer wall of the shrine"

Talks stall as Najaf under intense shelling


Monday 23 August 2004, 2:21 Makka Time, 23:21 GMT


Fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr have refused to surrender



http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7FE82A39-3A66-4FE1-9C27-F1487D29EA35.htm


Amid a constant barrage of AC-130 cannon fire, talks to end the standoff between US-led forces and militiamen loyal to Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr appear to have stalled.




Four large explosions were heard near the shrine early on Monday as AC-130 gunships pounded Mahdi Army positions around the Imam Ali mosque and near the cemetery, witnesses said.

In the latest round of clashes, al-Sadr aide Ahmad al-Shaibani told Aljazeera that US military helicopters and heavy artillery on Sunday bombed the old sector of Najaf.

He claimed shells fell in the vicinity of the Imam Ali shrine and a tank round caused a big hole in the outer wall of the shrine.



Several people were also killed and injured inside the shrine, he added.


-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is surely the STUPIDEST and most SUICIDAL act of a nakedly brutal emperor in all history!!!

The assholes have stepped in it and have made us ALL modern day equivalents of collaborators with the Nazi regime.

[kohodog]

13. Are we sick of these guys yet?

NOT IN MY NAME!!!

See you in NY next week. I've got to get out there and stand up for peace and justice. Bushco has no shame. It wouldn't surprise me if they're taunting Iran. The neocons have put Iran in the crosshairs. We are in desperate times for sure.

[UpInArms]

17. related article: Najaf mosque reportedly hit as standoff goes on

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1093183992894_70/?hub=CTVNewsAt11

Reports from Iraq say U.S. forces have hit part of a holy Shiite shrine in Najaf where rebels have been locked in a two-week standoff with U.S.-led forces.

The report, carried by the Reuters news agency, was from a senior commander of Shiite militants who said the wall of the Imam Ali Shrine was hit by U.S. fire on Sunday night.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Sheibani, who is also a top adviser to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, said it was hit during fighting.

It was not immediately possible to confirm the accusation independently.

Serious damage to the shrine would enrage millions of Shi'ites around the world and give al-Sadr political ammunition in his rebellion against U.S. troops.

<snip>

Guards at a prison in Amarah helped 82 prisoners - all common criminals - escape early Sunday, a prison official said.

...more...

[DoYouEverWonder]

16. This sucks

Fuck you George Bush and everything you stand for.

[Junkdrawer]

18. Any confirmation yet?

:shrug:

[Junkdrawer]

19. Confirmed...

US occupation forces have hit a part of the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, causing damage to its outer wall, as fierce fighting continues.

Director of the al-Sadr office in Nasiriya Aws al-Khafaji told Aljazeera the damage occurred during clashes between the occupation forces and the al-Mahdi Army on Sunday night.

Supporters of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said US aircraft had fired a rocket into the outer western wall of the mosque compound, news agency AFP reported.

The US military denied that the shrine had been targeted.

There was a dent in the wall measuring about 1 square metre and 30 centimetres deep, with rubble and spent parts of a rocket littered on the marble floor, an AFP correspondent said.

...

US rockets damage Najaf shrine wall


First report I've seen detailing the damage:



US occupation forces have hit a part of the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, causing damage to its outer wall, as fierce fighting continues.

Director of the al-Sadr office in Nasiriya Aws al-Khafaji told Aljazeera the damage occurred during clashes between the occupation forces and the al-Mahdi Army on Sunday night.

Supporters of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said US aircraft had fired a rocket into the outer western wall of the mosque compound, news agency AFP reported.

The US military denied that the shrine had been targeted.

There was a dent in the wall measuring about 1 square metre and 30 centimetres deep, with rubble and spent parts of a rocket littered on the marble floor, an AFP correspondent said.

...

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DB51A68A-569C-4109-A700-87F398E3FA31.htm