I hate hearing about loss of US life and hate losing equipment almost as bad. However, one thing that chaps my ass is to see gangs of dipshits dancing on top of damanged Humvees, etc. celebrating. I always wonder why we don't target these things, not only to prevent the equipment from falling into the wrong hands and later being used against us, but also because they seem to attract 'targets of opportunity' like flies are drawn to shit.
Well, this should teach some of 'em.
LINKAt least 24 die in Baghdad fighting
U.S. helicopter opened fire on disabled U.S. vehicle
Iraqi civilians carry a man injured during fighting Sunday in Baghdad.
MSNBC News Services
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Militants pounded central Baghdad on Sunday with one of their most intense mortar barrages ever, targeting the Green Zone and destroying a U.S. vehicle along a major street. At least 24 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in citywide violence -- many of them when a U.S. helicopter fired at a burning vehicle surrounded by crowds.
Elsewhere, three Polish soldiers were killed near Hillah, and a suicide attacker detonated an explosives-packed vehicle at the gates of Abu Ghraib prison, killing himself but causing no other casualties, the U.S. military said. American guards fired at the vehicle before the driver could reach the gate, the military said.
Rockets and mortars began raining down before dawn on the Green Zone, which houses Iraqi and U.S. offices, and other parts of central Baghdad. As the shelling continued after sunrise, U.S. troops backed by armored vehicles moved into the streets searching for the attackers.
A Bradley fighting vehicle rushing down Haifa Street to assist a U.S. patrol was disabled by a car bomb shortly before 7 a.m., the U.S. military said. The four U.S. crewmen escaped with minor injuries but came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire and called for air support, U.S. officials said.
'I'm dying, I'm dying'Jubilant fighters and young boys swarmed around the burning vehicle, dancing, cheering and hurling firebombs. Several young men placed a black banner of al-Qaida-backed Tawhid and Jihad, led by terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in the barrel of the Bradley's main gun. Suddenly, a U.S. Kiowa helicopter fired on the Bradley, trying to destroy it to prevent insurgents from looting weapons and ammunition on board, the military said.
Witnesses said several people milling around the Bradley, including a correspondent for the Arabic language Al-Arabiya television station, were killed. An Iraqi cameraman working for the Reuters news agency was also injured.
Al-Arabiya broadcast videotape showing its employee, Mazen al-Tumeizi, preparing to make a report. Suddenly, an explosion occurred behind him. He doubled-over and began screaming "I'm dying, I'm dying" and colleagues tried to help him.
Health Ministry official Saad al-Amili said 13 people were killed and 61 wounded on Haifa street. Scattered shoes, pools of fresh blood and debris littered the street.Another 12 people died and 41 injured Sunday in other violence across the city, al-Amili said.
"We were standing near the destroyed vehicle when the helicopter started firing, so we rushed to safety in a nearby building," Alaa Hassan, 24, said from his hospital bed. "I went back to the scene to help the wounded people when the helicopter fired again and I was hit in the chest."
Allawi threatenedAbu Musab al-Zarqawi, an al-Qaida ally fighting the U.S.-backed Iraqi government, has issued a new threat against Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in a purported taped message posted on the Internet.
"We will make sure that the traitor Allawi gets his due. You traitor, stop pretending and wait, because we will know how to be more cunning than you," said the taped voice, which sounded like previous recordings in al-Zarqawi's name.
"Expect the Angel of Death, just when you think you're safe with your idiot friends in your government. While you have your Christians, we have our Lord who answers our calls."
The United States has offered a $25 million reward for the capture of al-Zarqawi, its top militant target in Iraq.
The speaker noted recent battles between American forces and militiamen in the holy city of Najaf, indicating the recording was made recently.
The recording, which lasts around 20 minutes, appeared on the bulletin boards of a number of Islamist Web sites often used by militant groups.
The voice was similar to that of previous recordings of al-Zarqawi and used a similar style of rhythmic speech. There was no reference to the Sept. 11 attacks in the tape, titled "Where is the honor?"
"The holy warriors made the international coalition taste humiliation ... lessons from which they still are burning," the speaker said.
Al-Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group has claimed responsibility for many attacks in Iraq, including the kidnapping of foreign workers and suicide bombings that have killed Iraqi officials.
Three Polish soldiers killedThree Polish soldiers were killed in Iraq Sunday when they were attacked with grenades and machine-gun fire as they returned to their base from a demining operation, a Polish military spokesman said.
At least three more Poles were injured in the attack, some four miles east of Hillah, said Lt. Col. Artur Domanski, a spokesman for the Polish-led multinational security force in central Iraq.
The deaths raise the number of Polish soldiers killed in Iraq to 13.
Police chief killedElsewhere, the police chief in the west Baghdad district of Yarmouk was killed Sunday in a bomb attack while on patrol in the district, the Interior Ministry said. Col. Alaa Bashir and another officers both died on the spot, said ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman.
Clashes also occurred Sunday in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 20 others, hospital officials said. A U.S. Humvee was ablaze, parts of it scattered across the street, witnesses said.
The U.S. military had no immediate comment.
A bomb also exploded along a road just west of Ramadi as a U.S. military convoy was passing by, witnesses said. They said U.S. troops opened fire after the attack, wounding several people in the area. It was not immediately clear whether there were any American casualties.
Hospital official Abdul-Muneim Afkan said two people were killed and 20 wounded, including women and children, in the violence around Ramadi on Sunday.
Oilfield attackThree Iraqi national guardsmen were killed Sunday when unknown attackers opened fire at their checkpoint in Jbala, an area north of the city of Hillah, Rahman said.
Elsewhere, gunmen attacked security forces guarding oilfields in two separate incidents in northern Iraq, injuring five officers, officials said.
Three officers were wounded when attackers opened fire as they stood guard near the Dibis oilfields northeast of the city of Kirkuk, while two others were injured in a drive-by-shooting west of Kirkuk, said Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin of the Iraqi National Guard.
Security officers guarding the oil-rich Kirkuk area have repeatedly been targeted by militants who have blown up scores of pipelines in a bid to disrupt reconstruction efforts and undermine the U.S.-backed interim government.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.