Gunmen take over Ramadi as bomb kills five marines

[bemildred]

A lot of rehash, but the on-site reporting is worth it.

Insurgents have taken over much of the Iraqi city of Ramadi and used it to launch attacks against US forces while terrorising the population with public beheadings.

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A man described as an Egyptian spy was beheaded and his body dumped on a busy shopping street. Warned by the killers to leave it for five days, shoppers pretended not to notice the figure in the brown robe, its head resting on its back.

Four days ago two suspected Shia militiamen were beheaded in the marketplace in full view of traders, said a senior police officer who asked not to be identified. Two boys played football with one of the heads, he added.

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All Humvees are now armoured but there is suspicion that insurgents have learned to make "shape charges" which narrow the force of blasts to penetrate armour. Children played with the vehicle's charred debris.

Guardian UK

[alittlelark]

1. Hell, Thy Name is Iraq.

:cry: :scared: :grr:

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. They won't be hard to defeat, their backs were all broken in Fallujah

According to the wh talking points at least.

[knowbody0]

3. OMG

the insanity of bush's illegal invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation

[ogradda]

4. But things are going so well!

Not.

[TrogL]

5. How many times has US forces "taken" Ramadi?

I've lost count.

Each time Dubya claims it as a victory.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. I have heard in a passing report that Fallujah isn't safe either.

[u2spirit]

6. Onward Christian soldiers

Marching as to war!:sarcasm:

[alcuno]

8. Ramadi - Population 500,000.

They took over much of a city of 500,000? You can't do that without the cooperation of the people in the city.

[Mika]

9. Obviously, its the last gasp of the insurgency..

.. according to Dick Cheney.

[evermind]

10. "Nothing unusual, just normal everyday life in Iraq"

From the article:

Brigadier General Donald Alston, a coalition spokesman, played down the violence.

"I would not consider the situation in Ramadi to be anything extraordinary at this time," he said. "We continue to put pressure on the insurgency in all parts of Iraq, including Ramadi."

Residents said that in reprisal for their losses US troops fired grenades at a minibus as it crossed the bridge at 6am yesterday.

Eight girls and women died and a Jordanian man was injured, said hospital staff. It was not possible to verify the account. A US military spokesman said he had heard no such reports.

Well, I know who I'd believe.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Ramadi sounds like Vietnam's Ben Tre

I wonder if one of our generals will repeat those famous words of we must "destroy the town in order to save it."

[Barrett808]

12. Looks like we'll have to swing around from al Qaim

What a clusterf*ck.