Wednesday, April 13, 2005


Further to the earlier news (translated yesterday from Arabic from Mufakirat Al-Islam: http://www.islammemo.cc/ )
concerning the control of Al-Qaim by the Iraqi Resistance < http://abutamam.blogspot.com/2005/04/second-time-in-less-tha
n-two-weeks-al.html>, the following are news developments of the raging battle as reported by Mufakirat Al-Islam's correspondents and an Al-Hurra Arabic TV channel correspondent who is embedded with the American army:

- The Iraqi Ministry of Health has warned the American army against the repeated use of chemical, nerve and mustard munitions as was used in the November 2004 attack against Fallujah, whose traces are still evident there. It asked that International agencies be permitted to transport food, water and medicine to the civilian population in Al-Qaim and surrounding villages.

- By early afternoon on Tuesday April 13, 2005 , the Resistance has spread its control over all sectors of Al-Qaim after the morning retreat of the American forces and their 'Iraqi army' from the city. They have regrouped to the north of the city and are supported by more than 300 military vehicles while many drone planes are flying over the city. The hospital at Al-Qaim has appealed to the civilians to donate cloth, cotton, cleansers, sewing needles and portable beds. The women have been asked to report to the mosques to prepare food for the fighters. Electricity and water have been cut off by the Americans and they have stationed several snipers near the Euphrates river to prevent anybody from reaching its bank to obtain supplies of water.

- In an interview with an embedded correspondent of the American supported Al-Hurra Arabic TV channel, and after enquiring about the messages that are emanating from the mosques' loudspeakers, an American commander responded: "We will defeat them even if Mohammad and the God of Mohammad is with them". Three youths have surrendered themselves to the Mayor of Al-Qaim claiming that they have been paid thousands of dollars to spy on and have reported some Resistance fighters' names to the Americans. They had recanted after witnessing the martyrdom of 40-years old Nofa Garkan, the Resistance woman fighter from Ramadi, and seeing the blood running over her face.

- At 3pm, the Americans staged their attack on all four sides of Al-Qaim using more than 400 military vehicles, attack helicopters and mid-range rockets. An American Apache helicopter was downed. A pre-emptive attack was carried out by the Resistance on the Eastern American attack force. Four martyrs have been reported, a Saudi, a Jordanian and two Iraqis. The city is turned into a ball of flame and hot iron. The Al-Qaim hospital was bombed.

- By 7pm, the American forces again retreated to within 3-4 kilometers distance on all four fronts, to the east, west, north and south of Al-Qaim withdrawing their disabled military vehicles. The Resistance immediately started a rocket bombardment on the retreated American positions with Grad and Katyousha rockets. A statement by the Resistance threatened to kill four American prisoners of war that they had captured during the afternoon battle, one of them being a Major. Drone planes are flying all over the city.

It is now past midnight on Wednesday April 14, 2005 at Al-Qaim.

An Update:

This is a very belated and cryptic news item, posted April 14, 2005, of the fighting as reported by AlJazeera.net < http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E9D6D80D-B3C9-47BC-B3
F8-0FC7A304D279.htm > (their reporters have been banished from Iraq by PM Alawi more than six months ago):

"Al-Qaim fighting rages
Meanwhile, fighting in the western border town of al-Qaim continued for the sixth consecutive day with a US military statement reporting nine fighters killed on Tuesday.
"During sporadic fighting around Camp Gannon yesterday, nine insurgents were killed by marines," it said in a statement. "All nine insurgents were killed as they attacked the camp with various types of small arms weapons."
The fighting raged eight kilometres east of the border with Syria in the Al-Qaim-Husaybah region.
On Monday, three US marines and three Iraqis were wounded when car bombs were set off outside the camp.
Sources in the town reported heavy clashes again on Wednesday."