Another Attack In Fallujah
Rebels attacked a U.S. military convoy and a Humvee was burned Thursday near Fallujah, witnesses said, a day after the grisly killing and mutilation of four American civilians whose bodies were dragged through the streets by a jubilant mob.
It is not known yet whether there were any casualties in Thursday's assault. Associated Press Television News footage showed smoke pouring from the vehicle that had been abandoned on a roadside just outside the city. Witnesses said the Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
U.S. officials have said they could not confirm the attack.
On Wednesday in Fallujah, a horrifying scene unfolded as mobs killed and mutilated bodies of four American contractors through the streets. Two of the victims were strung up on a bridge after rebels ambushed their SUVs.
Some of the bodies were loaded onto the back of a donkey-pulled wooden cart later Wednesday and paraded through Fallujah's streets as crowds clapped and whistled. It is not clear where the bodies of the Americans are now.
The abuse of the corpses was similar to the scene more than a decade ago in Somalia, when a mob dragged corpses of U.S. soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation. The images were broadcast worldwide and became the subject of the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."
"Yesterday's events in Fallujah are dramatic examples of the ongoing struggle between human dignity and barbarism," said L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator for Iraq, at a graduation ceremony Thursday for police cadets.
"Four Americans were attacked and their bodies subjected to barbaric maltreatment. The acts we have seen were despicable and inexcusable," he said. "They violate the tenants of all religions including Islam as one of the foundations of civilized society."
"Their deaths will not go unpunished," said Bremer.
In Basra Thursday, officials say Iraqi security forces fired on protesters demanding jobs as policemen. Officials say one demonstrator was killed and two others were wounded.
A British military vehicle that was in the area at the time was hit by some stones thrown by the protesters, but it later left the area.
The clash occurred outside the local Customs building in Basra. Hospital official Khaled Abdullah says the wounded are in serious condition.
Last week, a clash between unemployed Iraqis demanding jobs as policemen and British troops left 14 soldiers wounded. Basra is patrolled by the British military.
Also Thursday, two explosions near a U.S.-escorted fuel convoy wounded at least one Iraqi in northern Baghdad, witnesses said. APTN footage showed U.S. soldiers putting a wounded person on a stretcher inside an armored vehicle.
In other recent developments:
In Fallujah Thursday, Iraqi police manned standard roadside checkpoints, but no U.S. troops could be seen inside the city. Shops and schools were open.
Some residents on Thursday vowed to repel U.S. forces if they raid the city.
"We will not let any foreigner enter Fallujah," said Sameer Sami, 40. "Yesterday's attack is proof of how much we hate the Americans."
Another resident, Ahmed al-Dulaimi, 30, said, "We wish that they (U.S. forces) would try to enter Fallujah so we'd let hell break lose."
Five U.S. soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division also died Wednesday when a bomb exploded under their M-113 armored personnel carrier north of Fallujah, making it the bloodiest day for Americans in Iraq since Jan. 8.
U.S. officials denounced the violence and vowed to stay the course in Iraq.
The White House blamed terrorists and remnants of Saddam Hussein's former regime for the "horrific attacks" on the American contractors.
"It is offensive, it is despicable the way these individuals have been treated," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.
Referring to the planned June 30 transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis, McClellan said "the best way to honor those that lost their lives" is to continue with efforts to bring democracy to Iraq.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the contractors, all men, "were trying to make a difference and to help others."
Fallujah, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, has been the scene of some of the worst violence on both sides of the conflict since the beginning of the U.S.-led occupation a year ago.
Chanting "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans," residents cheered after Wednesday's assault on two four-wheel-drive civilian vehicles left both cars in flames.
Iraqis said insurgents attacked the contractors with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. After the attack, civilians, none of whom appeared to be armed, gathered to celebrate, dragging the bodies through the street and hanging two of them from the green, iron bridge spanning the Euphrates River.
One body was tied to a car that had a poster in its window of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who recently was assassinated in Gaza City by the Israeli military.
Many of those in the crowd were excited young boys who shouted slogans in front of television cameras.
"The people of Fallujah hung some of the bodies on the old bridge like slaughtered sheep," resident Abdul Aziz Mohammed said. Some corpses were dismembered, he said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the contractors, all men, "were trying to make a difference and to help others."
U.S. officials did not identify the dead or the nature of their work because the next of kin had not yet been notified.
However, early evidence indicated they worked for Blackwater Security Consulting, a company based in Moyock, N.C., the company said in a statement. The security firm hires former military members from the United States and other countries to provide security training and guard services. In Iraq, the company was hired by the Pentagon to provide security for convoys that delivered food in the Fallujah area, the company statement said.
In Baghdad, U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the coalition would not be deterred from its mission to rebuild Iraq, and that numerous reconstruction projects were moving forward nationwide.
The roadside bomb that killed the five American soldiers Wednesday was in Malahma, 10 miles northwest of Fallujah, where anti-U.S. insurgents are active.
Their deaths raised the number of U.S. troops killed in March to at least 48, making it the second-deadliest month for U.S. troops since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1. The deadliest month was November, when 82 U.S. troops were killed.
In all, at least 597 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war began March 20, 2003. Of the total, 459 have died since May 1 when Bush flew onto an aircraft carrier off the California coast to declare the end of major combat.
Support for Saddam was strong in Sunni Triangle cities such as Fallujah, and rebels often carry out attacks against American forces. Marines recently took over authority in the region from the Army.