Fighting continues on Monday there, here is a round up.

Fierce Battle Continues to Rage in Najaf Five U.S. Troops Reported Dead in Separate Incidents By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI, AP NAJAF, Iraq (Aug. 22) - Explosions and gunfire shook Najaf's Old City on Sunday in a fierce battle between U.S. forces and Shiite militants, as negotiations dragged on for the handover of the shrine that the fighters have used for their stronghold.   Reuters Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hold up their weapons as they chant in support for their leader in Najaf.     Late Sunday, U.S. warplanes and helicopters attacked positions in the Old City for the second night with bombs and gunfire, witnesses said. Militant leaders said the Imam Ali Shrine compound's outer walls were damaged in the attacks. The U.S. military, which has been careful to avoid damaging the compound, said it fired on sites south of the shrine, where militants were shooting from, and did not hit the compound wall. Also, five U.S. troops were reported dead in separate incidents, and an American journalist held hostage for more than a week and threatened with death if U.S. forces did not leave Najaf was released by his captors. Sunday's clashes in Najaf appeared more intense than in recent days as U.S. forces sealed off the Old City. But Iraqi government officials counseled patience, saying they intended to resolve the crisis without raiding the shrine, one of Shia Islam's holiest sites.   Talk About It       · Post a Message | Chat · Top News Boards     ''The government will leave no stone unturned to reach a peaceful settlement,'' Iraqi National Security adviser Mouaffaq al-Rubaie told The Associated Press. ''It has no intention or interest in killing more people or having even the most trivial damage to the shrine. We have a vested interest in a peaceful settlement.'' Senior government officials said last week an Iraqi force was preparing to raid the shrine within hours to expel the militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, but interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi quickly backed off that threat. Such an operation would anger Shiites across the country and could turn them against the new government as it tries to gain legitimacy and tackle a 16-month-old insurgency. In the Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni insurgency, four U.S. Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed in separate incidents, the military announced Sunday. One Marine was killed in action Saturday and two others died Saturday of wounds received while conducting ''security and stability operations'' in the province, the military said. Another Marine was killed Saturday when his Humvee flipped after running into a tank, the military said.   More on This Story       · Kidnapped Journalist Freed · The Lessons of Najaf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · AOL Search: News From Iraq     A roadside bomb attack Sunday targeting a U.S. military convoy outside the northern city of Mosul killed one U.S. soldier assigned to Task Force Olympia and wounded another, the military said. The injured soldier was in stable condition. Two Iraqi children also were injured in the blast, said Dr. Mohammed Ahmed of al-Jumhuri hospital. As of Friday, 949 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq in March 2003, according to the U.S. Defense Department. Late Sunday, U.S. journalist Micah Garen, who was kidnapped Aug. 13 in the southern city of Nasiriyah, was released along with his Iraqi translator at al-Sadr's offices there after the cleric's aides appealed for his freedom. Garen and his translator, Amir Doushi, were walking through a market when two armed men in civilian clothes seized them, police said. Insurgents later released a video of Garen and threatened to kill him if U.S. troops did not leave Najaf. In a brief interview with the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera after his release, Garen thanked al-Sadr's representatives for their work, which included an appeal to the kidnappers during Friday prayers. Sheik Aws al-Khafaji, an al-Sadr aide, said the kidnappers mistakenly had thought Garen was working for the U.S. intelligence services. ''The kidnappers listened to the call that we made during Friday prayers, and they contacted us and we asked them to bring him to (al-Sadr's) office and promised that no one would pursue them,'' al-Khafaji said.   The Center of the Storm         AP A brief sketch of Najaf's Imam Ali mosque: · Imam Ali bin Abi Talib was a relative of the Prophet Mohammad. He died in the seventh century and his tomb in Najaf is marked by the Imam Ali Mosque. Shiites see him as the first of 12 imams whose teachings must be followed. · The sprawling mosque and courtyard adjoin an ancient cemetery called the Wadi al-Salam (Valley of Peace), one of the biggest in the Middle East. It is dotted with underground crypts and contains the tombs of other prominent figures. · Each year thousands of Shiites make pilgrimages to the shrine. Iran's late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini spent 14 years in exile in Najaf, the premier center of Shiite learning, after his expulsion by the shah in 1964. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- · Chronology: Najaf Uprising Source: Reuters     In Najaf, U.S. tanks rumbled down deserted streets Sunday, while sporadic gunfire filled the air. The roads leading to the shrine were muddied and filled with chunks of concrete ripped from the streets. Black smoke trailed from a building, as the clatter of automatic gunfire rang out. In the afternoon a fierce battle between the military and al-Sadr's militants broke out when insurgents launched a mortar barrage at U.S. troops, witnesses said. Calm returned to the city after about half an hour. U.S. forces sealed off the Old City, the center of the more than two weeks of fighting here, restoring a cordon that had been loosened in recent days. Several mortar attacks targeted police offices in the city, but no one was injured, officials said. Early Sunday, U.S. warplanes bombed the Old City and the sounds of shelling could be heard in the streets, witnesses said. The U.S. military could not confirm the bombing. At least three people were killed and 18 injured during overnight fighting, said Tawfiq Mohammed of Najaf General Hospital. Fighting in the nearby city of Kufa on Saturday killed 40 militants, according to the Interior Ministry. However, Mahmoud al-Soudani, an al-Sadr aide, called the claim ''government propaganda'' and said only one militant had been killed. Al-Sadr himself has not been seen in public in days, but al-Soudani said the cleric was in good health and remained in Najaf. The crisis in Najaf, which has spread to other Shiite communities, appeared on the verge of resolution Friday, when insurgents agreed to turn over the shrine to representatives of Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani. But the transfer has bogged down amid quibbling over technicalities. Representatives from both sides said Sunday they were still working out the details. Al-Rubaie said the government was willing to wait while the two sides worked out an agreement on the shrine, but added that al-Sadr needed to dismantle his Mahdi militia as well to end the violence. ''He has to show definite signs that he agrees, whether going on television or signing an agreement promising that he will disband the army,'' he said. ''It's very important. We cannot live in a peaceful, democratic country with a militia.'' Also Sunday, Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski paid a visit to his troops in Iraq and said the persistent attacks here would not deter Poland from fulfilling its commitments. Attending a memorial Mass for a Polish soldier killed in a bombing Saturday, he said: ''Let us make a vow that his death will not be in vain, that we will go on with our mission.'' Poland has about 2,400 troops in Iraq. In other violence Sunday: - A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb alongside the convoy carrying a deputy provincial governor, Bassam al-Khadran, in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad. The blast killed two people and injured 14 others, including al-Khadran, Iraqi officials said. - In Jur al-Nadaf, 12 miles south of Baghdad, attackers sprayed a police vehicle with machine-gun fire, killing two policemen before fleeing, said Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman of the Interior Ministry. - In Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on a car, killing an Indonesian citizen and injuring a Filipino, hospital officials said. Two Iraqis, the car's driver and a bodyguard, were also killed in the attack, Dr. Dhia Taha said. - In the southern city of Basra, an Iraqi intelligence officer kidnapped nearly a week ago and threatened with death if U.S. and Iraqi forces did not end the violence in Najaf was found dead, his body riddled with bullets, police said Sunday. AP-NY-08-22-04 2002EDT Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All

No word of us entering the mosqe yet

Spooky has made a return visit on Monday morning, but still no pics

news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040823/wl_nm/iraq_dc_372

U.S. Plane Attacks Najaf Rebels as Tanks Near Shrine 1 hour, 38 minutes ago  Add World - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Michael Georgy NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A U.S. AC-130 gunship attacked Shi'ite militia positions in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf early on Monday after tanks reinforced the siege of a shrine at the center of a nearly three-week insurgency. The U.S. tanks advanced to within 800 yards of the Imam Ali mosque, Iraq (news - web sites)'s holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine, provoking a fierce gunbattle, and a senior militia commander said a wall of the shrine had been hit by U.S. fire.

Man, it's hard to find the words for what our men and women are doing over there, I can't imagine the courage it takes to be in some shit hole thousands of miles away from home doing what they do and they consider it their job. Incrediable people, every one of them. We owe them so much for their service.

Quoted: us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20040822/capt.mac10208221650.iraq_mac102.jpg A U.S. Army soldier fires a machine gun during a gun battle with insurgents after moving forward into a position closer to the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq (news - web sites), Sunday, Aug. 22, 2004. (AP Photo/Jim MacMillan) A M249 not using the belt box?

The boxes dont work for shit. My friend is with an engineering company and his M249 is such a piece of shit it is held together with tape, zip ties, and whatever else. Alot of times they will run it with the belts feeding out of a back pack.

What do you expect? The gun was designed to be dropped and not fired. FN....POS.

Bomber

God I ask for your blessing and the portion of faith, strength and wisdon for our leader President George W. Bush.

Father I ask for safety, courage, blessing, health, wisdom, faith, strength and abundance of supplies for our soldiers fighting for freedom in Iraq this day. Give them victory this day Lord. Keep them safe and bring fathers back to wives and children and brothers back to mothers. I pray for our Generals, the Joint Chiefs, Admirals, Commanders, Majors, Advisors, Intelligence everybody involved in this fight for freedom, Lord God give an abundance of wisdom and keep them safe.

I pray for the people of Iraq Lord that you will continue to reveal Yourself to them in a tangible way. Lord show them your love for them, let them see the deceit of the Muslum faith and the truth and love you showed when you sent your only son Jesus to the cross for them.

I pray Lord for the newly formed Iraqi government, guide and protect them Lord with your mighty hand and your eye. Pour out wisdom to them as the lead this country into it's first steps towards freedom.

I ask it all in Jesus' name and thank you Father now for I know you'll do it. I thank you God for the incredible blessing you have already poured out on America. I thank you that we still live in the greatest country on earth, I give you the credit for that Lord. I know that every perfect and good gift comes down from above. Thank you Lord God for not turning your back towards us even though we have allowed much of America to turn a shoulder to you our God. Thank you God for loving us even when we were your enemy. Thank you God for the very air we breathe, please don't remove your wing of protection from this great land you have made.

Quoted: Masked Iraqi police officers drive on patrol in Najaf August 22, 2004.

Did you guys know that Al Sadr's thugs have been boiling captured Iraqi Policemen alive to try and break the will of the Iraqi Police to fight… lovely people Al Sadr and his goons.

ANdy

Quoted: Reuters says we blew a hole in the mosque wall Najaf Shrine Wall Hit by U.S. Fire-Shi'ite Cleric 24 minutes ago  Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo! NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A senior commander of Shi'ite militants holed up inside a Najaf shrine said the wall of the mosque was hit by U.S. fire on Sunday night.   Sheikh Ahmed al-Sheibani, who is also a top adviser to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, said it was hit during fighting. It was not immediately possible to confirm the accusation independently. Serious damage to the shrine would enrage millions of Shi'ites around the world and give Sadr political ammunition in his rebellion against U.S. troops.

Yep, saw some footage on the News here in UK, looks like a tank round put a pretty big ding in the wall near the main gate.

Edited to ad: Al Sadr's people are saying it was a missile…

ANdy

You know, I realize all this PC shit is to save face but I sincerely think we would be better served and the shit would end if we just leveled the damn mosque and made a statement that any attempt to use a shrine for cover would result in the same immediate action. Does anybody think for one farking minute, that if these pieces of human filth would refrain from bombing our churches, hospitals, schools if they were on our soil? They already blew up occupied Christian churches in Iraq. If we started blowing up the occupied mosques, the Iraqis on our side would see to it that the opposition was crushed themselves. Bunch of moon god Satan worshipping bastards.

The dude with the drone....oh god, that is just funny.  I wonder if he is aware of the fact that tons of people in real countries have RC aircraft similar to that.

"Allah be praised!!  I have stumbled on a secret infidel weapon!!! .........What's that?  Millions....owned by everyday people in the Land of the Great Satan?   Oh....well, fuck a camel and call me an infidel."  

And the inevitable Nissan Pickup Troop Carrier.  I don't care how much Nissan gets badmouthed there are a million of those in Iraq and they all seem to run just fine with IRAQI maintenance techniques.  Until they turn the corner where that M1A1 is waiting.... No hardbody pickup will withstand that.

Quoted: Quoted: Did you guys know that Al Sadr's thugs have been boiling captured Iraqi Policemen alive to try and break the will of the Iraqi Police to fight… lovely people Al Sadr and his goons. Link?

Press Interview in UK newspaper with Ghaleb al-Jazairi, Najaf Chief of Police…


ANdy

FN a POS?

Ummm...

I guess I shouldn't point out that a large portion of US weapons over here are FN-built? From M-16s through M249s to M240s. M240's one of the best machine guns ever.

But then that's just me.

NTM

Aside from these dapper gents.....


...are other members of Muqtada al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army...


...of course we all know "al-Mahdi" means "Wasteland Warrior's in search of gasoline"


...time to send in Max

Quoted: That's a 240, not a 249, and the Army is 35 years behind the rest of the world and doesn't issue (or atleast issue in quantity) a belt carrier. South Africa had one 35 years ago.

Here are some pictures (off eBay) of the M240 ammo carrier that SDS is making as part of the Rapid Fielding Initiative:



As TimJ said, not issued in quantity yet, but available.

Dave

Quoted: I am still looking for pics of M1 tanks, other than that one of a TC looking over his .50. You know our guys are REALLY diciplined cause half these photos are taken by men with ARAB names. Its amazing some of them havent been killed yet- what would YOUR first reaction be if you saw a Arab  point a tubular thingy at you?  "RPG!" BLAM BLAM BLAM! And then theres this lot: Masked Iraqi police officers drive on patrol in Najaf August 22, 2004. U.S. tanks advanced to within 800 yards of the Imam Ali mosque in the Iraqi city after talks on surrendering control of the shrine at the center of an 18-day siege ran into trouble. (Ali Jasim/Reuters) Get some uniforms people!  Christ how are we supposed to tell them apart from the bad guys

I was thinking the same thing!

BigDozer66