BAGHDAD, 21 October 2003 — US forces suffered another battle casualty Monday in the flashpoint city of Fallujah, which brought the American postwar combat toll in Iraq to 104. “At 1:00 p.m. (1000 GMT) today in Fallujah, a patrol from the 82nd Airborne Division was attacked,” the US-led coalition said in a statement, adding that the strike was “followed by small arms fire.”
“One was killed in action and five were wounded.” Earlier, witnesses said that three Iraqis were wounded in the gunfire, and several people were later arrested. The death brought to 104 the number of US soldiers killed in action since Washington declared an end to major hostilities on May 1.
Another two Americans died late Saturday, just hours after Doha-based Al-Jazeera television aired a message purported to be from Osama Bin Laden, threatening suicide attacks against the Americans and calling for a “jihad” in Iraq.
On Sunday, the Americans again came under pressure, with several strikes reported against them, notably in Fallujah, 50 kilometers west of Baghdad, where a vehicle apparently carrying ammunition burst into flames after an attack on a US convoy.
A small crowd at the scene chanted slogans in favor of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, and a man who witnessed the attack said it was a first response to Bin Laden’s call to arms. An Iraqi civilian was hit in an ensuing gunbattle, according to witnesses.
Later that night, at least eight explosions were heard near the US military base in Fallujah, and flares were fired from the camp. Also late Sunday, an anti-tank rocket was fired at a US convoy as it moved through the town of Khaldiyah, 30 kilometers of Fallujah. The rocket gutted a Humvee and US soldiers returned fire, said witness Adel Majid, 28.
Iraqi officials and police officers were also targeted. Police yesterday detained a man accused of trying to assassinate the deputy governor of the Diyala eastern province by planting a bomb under his car, an official told AFP. Anti-US forces also have directed their fire at infrastructure, notably blowing up vital pipelines.
A device made to look like a bomb but containing no explosives was found yesterday in a Baghdad school room under a photograph of Saddam.
The coalition blames the continuing attacks on a small number of Saddam loyalists. The former strongman’s whereabouts have been unclear since US-led troops entered Baghdad on April 9, but a letter purporting to be from him has emerged in his hometown of Tikrit, calling on tribes to wage a holy war on the Americans.
“I urge you to help your brothers in the resistance. Call the sons of your tribes to the jihad because the day of salvation is near,” the message, obtained by AFP, said. The message praised those who struck at the “invader”.
“Your strikes, which they did not expect, hurt them. Their demons made them believe Iraq would be just a mouthful. On the contrary, it has been poison for them.
“Victory is near,” the note said, urging tribal chiefs to unite. “Strike with an iron fist any person ... who serves the hated invader.”
Moreover, controlled by the Americans and faced with an angry populace, the police officers of Fallujah are increasingly disgruntled with the US troops occupying Iraq. “I was heading to work the other day when the Americans stopped me at a checkpoint. They thoroughly searched my vehicle, showing no respect whatsoever for my uniform,” a police officer said.
Another was angry at being told to arrest journalists after an attack on a US convoy in Fallujah. “They give us lessons in democracy and then they ask us to arrest journalists.” After dark, Iraqi policemen driving to the local American military headquarters must set their weapons on the floor of their vehicle so coalition soldiers don’t confuse them with anti-US forces.
Even if they go on a routine patrol, they need to inform the US-led troops, according to one officer who sat in a sparsely furnished office of the Fallujah police station. They are ill-equipped, their uniforms don’t always fit and they often stick their pistols in their pants, for want of a belt or a holster.
The nearby US 82nd Airborne Division base, on the other hand, is located in a luxurious villa that used to belong to Uday Hussein, a son of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. The officers say the Americans, who have faced numerous attacks, only leave their fortified base if they really need to.
On the other hand, the policemen claim they do not feel threatened, though they did set up barbed wire and a few concrete blocks outside their station. And there have been reported attacks on their station by insurgents.
