US air strike kills 20 'Al-Qaeda terrorists' in Iraq

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US forces have killed 20 Al-Qaeda terrorists, including two women, in a ground assault and air strike northwest of Baghdad.

Troops raiding a cluster of buildings housing suspected Al-Qaeda members in the Thar Thar area, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, came under attack from a machine guns and returned fire, killing two suspects, a military statement said Friday.

"Despite efforts to subdue the remaining armed terrorists, Coalition Forces continued to be threatened by enemy fire, causing forces to call in close air support ... resulting in 18 more armed terrorists killed," it said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061208/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestusqaeda_061208092923

[Binka]

1. Yawn. If It Walks Like Propaganda It Must Be Propaganda. n/t

[maddezmom]

2. wonder how long before we hear of civilian casualties?

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. I was wondering

how many are going to turn out to be children under the age of five?

+

[maddezmom]

9. Local officials in the area, however, maintained that the strike had killed

During a search of the objective, Coalition Forces found multiple weapons caches consisting of AK-47s, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-personnel mines, explosives, blasting caps and suicide vests," it said. "Coalition forces also found that two of the terrorists killed were women. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has both men and women supporting and facilitating their operations, unfortunately," it added.

Local officials in the area, however, maintained that the strike had killed more than two dozen innocent civilians, mostly women and children.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061208/wl_afp/iraqunrestusqaeda_061208101722

[0rganism]

11. "children" under five? don't be fooled! those are Al Qaeda interns!

Anyone who runs is VC, anyone who stands still is well-discplined VC! oops, did I say VC? I meant AQ.

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. Bush logic

We're killing them when they're young, so we don't have to kill them when they're older.

[RC]

16. In that case, why is he against abortion?

Oh, I forgot, they have to be born before they can be canon fodder. Life is sacred, ya know?

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. That's the insanity of it all

Bush and his followers scream about the right to life, while they kill 1000's of innocents without even blinking. All so they can feel 'safe'.

[MADem]

3. Now that is an hilarious headline--note the use of QUOTATION marks

US air strike kills 20 'Al-Qaeda terrorists' in Iraq

I dunno, maybe my sarcasm filter is excessively tuned, but I get a sense that the headline writer may have questioned the veracity of the report, just a bit....

Sort of like: Monkey Sez US is "Winning in Iraq" or Majority of Americans "Support" Military Action...

[maddezmom]

4. agree with your assessment...check out the rest of the statement

Following the operation, U.S. forces confiscated a weapons cache consisting of AK-47 machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-personnel mines, explosives, blasting caps and suicide vests.

"This is another step closer to defeating al Qaeda in Iraq and helping establish a safe and peaceful Iraq. Coalition Forces will continue to target not only senior al Qaeda in Iraq leaders, but all terrorists regardless of their titles or positions within the community," the statement said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08313170.htm

[Missy M]

6. Peace and democracy are right around the corner....

because we killed '20 Al-Qaeda terrorists'. Bush will forever live in his little dream world because of his little brain.

[MADem]

27. MEO has already hoisted the BS banner on this one

Granted, they are partisan, but so are the clowns who fed the initial report to an increasingly skeptical, based on that parsed headline, it would seem, media:

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=18677
The entire article is worth a read, FWIW...


....AFP journalists who visited the village of Taima northwest of Baghdad in the aftermath found and photographed relatives weeping over many mangled bodies, including those of at least two children.
Police provided the names of 17 dead people, which included those of four women, and indicated that nearly everyone was related. AFP passed photographs of the dead to the US military for comment.


"We've checked with the troops who conducted this operation -- there were no children found among the terrorists killed," US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver told AFP....Near the site of the blast, weeping relatives displayed the bodies of the victims, many of them hideously maimed by the force of the blast. At least two of the bodies were of young children and one of an adolescent.


Local police provided AFP with the names of 17 victims, four of them women. The names seemed to indicate that the victims were members of two extended families living in neighbouring houses....In March, the US reported that an airstrike in the nearby town of Ishaqi that killed an insurgent, two women and a child, while locals said 11 people, including four women and five children, were shot dead by US soldiers.


The BBC later showed images of the bodies of several women and children bearing gunshot wounds. Subsequent investigations into the incident by the US military absolved American soldiers of any wrongdoing.

Eh, these things write themselves....some asshole "informant" aka "C/W--cooperating witness" or "undercover local national operative" or whatever they want to call the muthas this week decided to make some money. He took money from one set of assholes to arrange a "hit" on this innocent family, no doubt led by another set of assholes, and the US Forces were patsied into acting as hit men, because they are under extreme pressure (to the point where judgment is impaired) to bring home a few "wins" for the gipper Shithead-in-Chief. This shit is happening all too often. You'd think they'd start to figure out that they are being conned, mightily, by factions that they simply cannot fathom, will not ever understand, and with whom they'll never establish common ground.

It's all over but the shouting, wailing and gnashing of teeth, and of course, the final count of the dead, which unfortunately, continues apace.

[jannyk]

5. I guess that new and improved

pentagon propaganda department has hit the ground running :puke:

[truthisfreedom]

7. ooh... 20 terrahists dead!

yet our deaths/causaulties are underreported at a rate of 1000 percent per day.

[maddezmom]

10. AFP alleged "Al-Qaeda terrorists" & Locals say 2 doz innocents killed mostly women&childran

5 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Forces from the US-led coalition in Iraq killed 20 alleged "Al-Qaeda terrorists", including two women, in a ground assault and air strike on a target northwest of Baghdad, the military has said.

~snip~
Coalition forces also found that two of the terrorists killed were women. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has both men and women supporting and facilitating their operations, unfortunately," it added.

US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver said that the women would have been confirmed as combatants in a "battle damage assessment" or inspection of the site following the incident.

"If there is a weapon with or next to the person or they are holding it, they are a terrorist," he said.

Garver could not confirm whether the coalition troops involved were American or from another coalition ally. "There are some units we don't talk about," he added.

The area described by US military officials corresponds to that of the town of Ishaqi, where local officials reported a US air strike had killed more than two dozen innocent civilians, mostly women and children.

more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061208/wl_afp/iraqunrestusqaeda_061208104041

[maddezmom]

13. Reuters: Iraqis say U.S. raid killed 32, including 6 children

Iraqis say U.S. raid killed 32, including 6 children
TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi police and local officials said at least six children and eight women were among 32 people killed in a U.S. air strike on Friday which the U.S. military said killed 20 al Qaeda militants, including two women.

Police Major Khedr Hussein said 32 people were killed at Ishaqi, 90 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Mayor Amer Alwan told Reuters U.S. aircraft bombed two homes around 1 a.m (2200 GMT). He said 32 people were believed to be inside and that of 25 bodies pulled so far from the rubble, eight were women and six children.

more:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061208/ts_nm/iraq_qaeda_town_dc_1

[Voltaire99]

14. Kill any terrorist babies in that air strike?

Those damn things can conceal a dirty bomb in their diapers.

[pinniped]

15. It must have been the al-Qaeda union office, local 445.

resulting in 18 more armed terrorists killed

Sounds like someone has been studying the work of Goebbels.

[Eugene]

18. Iraqis, US dispute 20 deaths in raid (police say 17 civilians dead)

Iraqis, US dispute 20 deaths in raid
08 Dec 2006 14:13:16 GMT
Source: Reuters

By Ibon Villelabeitia

BAGHDAD, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Iraqi officials said five children were killed
in a U.S. air strike on Friday which the U.S. military said killed 20
suspected al Qaeda militants.

Grieving relatives near Ishaqi, 90 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad, showed
the bodies of five children wrapped in blankets to journalists.

Houses, surrounded by open fields, were flattened in the raid and police
said they found the bodies of 17 civilians.

Complaints that unjustified killings by U.S. troops are common have soured
Iraqis' sentiment toward the U.S. presence in Iraq. Earlier this year Shi'ite
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he was losing patience over such reports.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IBO847923.htm

[sabra]

19. this is very ugly and sad :-(

[Strelnikov_]

20. "If They Run, They're Al-Qaeda . . .

If they don't run, they're well disciplined Al-Qaeda." - paraphrased, of course

. . .

The use of the term 'Al-Qaeda' sets off my propaganda-dar.

Al-Qaeda, as such, no longer exists. It was a name applied by the CIA to the terrorism 'venture capital' firm run by Bin-Laden. As of the Afghanistan invasion, this venture capital firm is no longer in operation.

The problem is, our invasion of Iraq has led other, mostly local, individuals to enter the Jihadi industry. In lieu of trying to explain the differences between these groups (Jihadi, nationalist partisan, sect partisan, etc.) to the proles it is much simpler, and politically beneficial, to call them all 'Al-Qaeda'.

To maintain a proper level of 'fear of the other', the illusion of a SPECTRE-like organization must be maintained.

Booga-Booga.

[MrPrax]

21. 'Children killed' in US Iraq raid

'Children killed' in US Iraq raid

Six children and eight women are among at least 32 people killed in a US air raid northwest of Baghdad, according to Iraqi police and local officials.

Khedr Hussein, an Iraqi police major, said 32 people were killed at Ishaqi, 90km north of Baghdad.

Mayor Amer Alwan told Reuters news agency that US aircraft bombed two homes in the early hours of Friday.

He said 32 civilians were believed to be inside and that of 25 bodies pulled so far from the rubble, eight were women and six children.

The US military said in a statement that said two women were among 20 suspected "al Qaeda terrorists" killed during the ground and air operation.

Aljazeera

[Sapere aude]

22. We called in air strikes all the time in Vietnam and they never made the news.

Why are we reporting this firefight? Some good news from Iraq I suppose.

[Drum]

23. LIES

[Laura PourMeADrink]

24. I guess killing children was not one of the 79 ISG recommendations.

[AtomicKitten]

25. This puffed-up propaganda is becoming tiresome.

[samsingh]

26. who knows if were civilians or actually terrorists

i don't believe anything these bunch of imbeciles say anymore.

[Roland99]

28. This seemed to change from "Al Qaeda" to "insurgents" later in the day, eh?

What a fucking joke