Coalition troops battling with extremists in several Iraqi cities

06.04.2004, 15.51

 
 BEIRUT, April 6 (Itar-Tass) - Coalition troops have launched operations on Tuesday morning in several Iraqi cities "to disarm and liquidate extremist groupings", the Al-Manar Television reports. Baghdad's Shi'ite suburbs of Al-Sadr and Al-Shual, as well as the Sunnite district of Azymia, are besieged. Tanks are firing on them and the population is looking forward to an offensive of U.S. marines. The American Command reports that four U.S. marines were killed in the course of the hostilities.

A punitive operation is being continued in El-Fallujah (Central Iraq). Taking part in it are U.S. aircraft, tanks and artillery. The Iraqis are putting up stiff resistance, while the peaceful population is fleeing from artillery fire. Helicopters are firing missiles at different targets within the city. A curfew was clamped down on El-Fallujah. Eyewitnesses informed the Al-Jazeera Television that three U.S. tanks were burned in the course of the street battles.

Spokesman for the Union of Moslem (Sunnite) Theologians Muhammed Bashar al-Faizi stated that the American occupation forces had "transcended all the permissible limits" and have violated the international laws.

In the meantime, the extremists have raided the camp of a Bulgarian battalion in the town of Karbala. They opened on it from small arms and grenade launchers. The Bulgarians managed to beat off the attack. There were no losses in the battalion, the Press Service of the Bulgarian Defence Ministry reports. This was the second raid on the Bulgarian battalion in the course of the past twenty-four hours. Bulgarian and Polish servicemen were forced to open fire on the extremists, who tried to capture an administrative building in the central part of Karbela on Monday.

Hostilities are under way also in the city of Ramadi, the administrative centre of Al-Anbar Province. The Iraqis are trying to put up armed resistance to American soldiers. Clashes flared up also in Al-Qaim and Al-Hit, which are in the western and southern parts of Iraq. British commandos have regained control with great difficulty over the central part of Basra on Tuesday morning.

According to Al-Manar Television, Italian troops have resumed fire on the residential districts of Al-Nassirya. The number of people killed there has reached 13 and twenty others were wounded. Deputy Governor Abbas al-Musawi said "veritable streets battles are now being fought and the number of victims is steadily growing". Eyewitnesses report that four Italian armoured personnel carriers were knocked out on Tuesday in the residential Al-Zeitun district of AL-Nassiriya.

Radical leader Muqtad al-Sadr, who instigated the uprising in the Shi' ite provinces of Iraq, has accused the coalition forces of being the first to open fire on the peaceful demonstrations of his supporters. The occupation authorities have outlawed Muqtad al-Sadr. "The so-called Imam Mahdi Army, which Al-Sadr heads, is being compared today with the Lebanese Hezbollah. The latter issued a statement in Beirut on Tuesday, solidarizing with the fight of the Iraqi people against foreign aggression.

In connection with all this, Britain is reinforcing its contingent in Iraq. The BBC reports from London that about seven hundred more British officers and men are being shipped to Basra.

Moscow is very much disturbed by the continuing degradation of the situation in Iraq and deems it "important to stop the spiral of violence". Only "the broad participation of the international community, including Iraq's neighbours, and the active role of the United Nations will be able to give a positive impetus to the settlement of the Iraq problem," Spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Yakovenko stated on Tuesday. "Russia is prepared to promote this process in every way hand in hand with the Iraqis, with partners in the given region, and within the U.N. Security Council," he stressed.