Iraqi militant group threatens election

[Rhiannon12866]

U.S. death toll reaches 51 in Falluja offensive
Friday, November 19, 2004 Posted: 2:49 AM EST (0749 GMT)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An Islamic militant group in Iraq warned Muslims to skip the country's coming elections, and said anyone who runs for office would be branded an infidel and "punished in the name of God."

Thursday's threat came as the death toll for U.S. troops in Falluja climbed to 51 since American and Iraqi troops launched an offensive against insurgents there 11 days ago.

The campaign has "broken the back of the insurgency there," but the city remains dangerous as troops continue to encounter holdout rebels and uncover weapons caches, said Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commanding general of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

Meanwhile, insurgents fired a mortar round Thursday into the office of Nineveh's provincial governor in Mosul, the U.S. military said. U.S. and Iraqi security forces have stepped up their fight against the resistance in the northern city, in response to an insurgent offensive apparently timed to divert attention from the Falluja operation.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/19/iraq.main/index.html

[Rhiannon12866]

1. This could scuttle any hope for elections

Not that this comes as much of a shock, despite what we're being told by the administration.:grr:

:kick:

[Rhiannon12866]

2. For reasons unknown to me, this link has changed

Here's the original story that I posted this morning.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/18/iraq.main/index.html