WAR: U.S. Denies Claim It Damaged Najaf Shrine, page 1

posted on Aug, 24 2004 @ 04:11 AM

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As the battle for Najaf rages on, the militans loyal to Al Sadr claim that US forces have damaged the holy shrine that they are hiding in.

story.news.yahoo.com
NAJAF, Iraq - Plumes of black smoke rose above the embattled city of Najaf Tuesday after American warplanes bombed insurgent positions overnight and supporters of a radical cleric charged that shrapnel from a U.S. attack had hit parts of the Imam Ali Shrine. The military denied the claim.

In Baghdad, assailants targeted the convoys of the interim government's ministers of environment and education in two separate bombings Tuesday, officials said. Neither of the ministers was hurt, but at least five people were reported killed.

In one attack, a car bomb exploded in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Kadisea as Environment Minister Miskhat Moumin was passing through in a convoy, ministry spokesman Dalal Ali said. Moumin escaped unharmed, Ali said.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

This may be a measure of how desperate Al Sadr has become. He lost his chance to end the conflict and now must realize the end is near. The Imam Ali mosque is a very holy site, so he may be trying to entice anti-american sentiment and perhaps gain more support for his cause

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
A historical look at the Iman Ali mosque in Najaf
WAR: Al-Mahdi Army Has Mosque Rigged for Destruction

[edit on 8-24-2004 by Valhall]

Kriz_4

posted on Aug, 24 2004 @ 07:35 AM

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I have just seen broadcast on lunchtime BBC TV news that the shrine was damaged.

marg6043

posted on Aug, 24 2004 @ 07:41 AM

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It is a reason why the US and Iraqi government does not want the media around, things are going to get ugly as the rest of the nation in Iraq start to realized the damage to the holy site, and without news directly from the are with can not come to any conclusion but what the US media and the government feeds us.

What happened to the democratic Iraq, they can be killing everybody over there in the name of terror and we will not be able to judge the guilty.

Jack Martin

posted on Aug, 24 2004 @ 03:16 PM

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The radical opposition in Iraq can hole-up inside holy places with impunity? This action speaks volumes to which organization is truly endangering that mosque.

Besiege the structure...wait 'em out...

[edit on 08/19/2004 by Jack Martin]

FredT

posted on Aug, 24 2004 @ 07:12 PM

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Originally posted by Jack Martin
The radical opposition in Iraq can hole-up inside holy places with impunity? This action speaks volumes to which organization is truly endangering that mosque.

Besiege the structure...wait 'em out...

[edit on 08/19/2004 by Jack Martin]

Exactly. The IDF did the exact same thing when a group holed up int he Bethleham Church. They just surrounded them and were patient. i think given the importance of the shrine, this seems to be the thing to do.

Jack Martin

posted on Aug, 28 2004 @ 11:33 PM

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Fred T,

(You know, I spent a considerable space in time at NAS North Island...just an endearing blurb).

[edit on 28-8-2004 by Jack Martin]