Iraqi Resistance Reports for 10-11 May 2006 (including full text of Ramadi Invasion)
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice- Unannounced US offensive against ar-Ramadi begins at dawn Wednesday. Resistance counter attacks begin at noon. Eleven local people dead, at least one American Marine reported killed.
- Two US troops reported killed in battle with Resistance in al-Hadithah Wednesday morning.
- Bodies of 13 Sunni victims found tortured and murdered in Baghdad.
- Six US troops reported killed in double Resistance bombing near al-Bakr Air Base.
- Resistance fighters kill pro-American Badr Brigade death squad chief in ad-Dujayl.
- US warplanes rocket homes, ambulance in northeastern ar-Ramadi.
- US warplanes rocket unused dormitory at al-Anbar University in ar-Ramadi, killing four Iraqis.
- Resistance sharpshooter reportedly kills US soldier near ar-Ramadi.
- Double Resistance bombing near al-Fallujah leaves three US troops reported dead.
- Resistance bomb near al-Khalidiyah leaves four US troops reported killed.
- Massive explosion rocks US base at ar-Rutbah near Jordanian border at dawn Thursday.
- Resistance bomb near Yathrib reportedly kills two US troops.
- US soldier reported killed by Resistance bomb in Bayji.
- Resistance mortars bring down US observation town near Iranian border, reportedly killing two US Marines.
US offensive against ar-Ramadi begins at dawn Wednesday.
In a dispatch posted at 10:30am Makkah time Wednesday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that US occupation forces began their anticipated new offensive against the people of ar-Ramadi, about 110km west of Baghdad, at dawn on Wednesday.
The ar-Ramadi correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in the city as saying that more than 500 US troops with air cover from helicopter gunships and warplanes and accompanied by soldiers in the Iraqi puppet army launched their assault on the city from several directions.
They began their campaign against the north of the city, specifically the areas around ar-Ramadi General Hospital and then spread out to the center of the city, carrying out house-to-house raids and arrests of local residents. The correspondent reported that US warplanes put up a show of military strength in the sky over the city, firing four rockets at empty houses that harmed neither local civilians nor Resistance fighters.
As usual in such offensives, ar-Ramadi has been surrounded with no one allowed in or out. Puppet government offices and departments and schools and colleges are closed.
At the start of their campaign, US troops used loudspeakers and distributed written declarations in the city, demanding that local people assist them in finding members of al-Qa‘idah in return for receiving American “protection” and “security” and the rebuilding of their city. The American declarations threatened that coming hours and days would be difficult for the city’s residents if they do not cooperate with the American forces. The American statement said that the local people would be treated as “supporters of terrorism” if they fail to cooperate with the US invaders.
The correspondent reported that the city was without activity, other than that of the US and Iraqi puppet troops who are combing a large number of neighborhoods and extensive parts of the city.
A Resistance commander, meanwhile, told Mafkarat al-Islam, “we are now arranging our ranks and preparing ourselves for a battle that, if it breaks out, only God knows how long it will last.”
US warplanes rocket ar-Ramadi train station.
In a dispatch posted at 10:40am Makkah time Wednesday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short time earlier US warplanes rocketed the area around the ar-Ramadi train station in the northeast of the city.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses as saying that one of the American fighter-bombers fired two rockets at the railroad station. The railroad station, which is used by students and employees commuting from the east to the west of the city, was completely destroyed.
The correspondent wrote that the American raids, searches, and arrests were still going on at the time of reporting and that so far the Resistance had launched no attacks in response.
Americans arrest five puppet police for passing secrets to the Resistance.
In a bulletin posted at 11:25am Makkah time Wednesday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while earlier the US occupation troops in ar-Ramadi had arrested five puppet policemen in the city on charges that they leaked security information to the Iraqi Resistance.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the ar-Ramadi puppet police station who asked not to be identified as saying that an American force of five Humvees stormed the puppet police station and arrested five puppet policemen, three of them officers, on charges of passing security information on the movements of the US and Iraqi puppet military forces to the Iraqi Resistance.
The source said that the Americans took off the officers’ rank insignia, seized their personal weapons, and then put bags over their heads and took them away to the US al-Warrar base west of the city.
US airplanes rocked Consumer Cooperative Society, killing four persons.
In a dispatch posted at 12:30pm Makkah time Wednesday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while earlier US warplanes rocketed the Consumer Cooperative Society offices in northwestern ar-Ramadi. Located at in the Consumer Cooperative complex was a vegetable market and a market for household appliances, but both have been vacant for months because of the situation in the city.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the American attack was part of th American offensive against the city population launched at dawn Wednesday. The city hospital reported that the American raid on the Consumer Cooperative killed four Iraqis but the correspondent was unable to find out whether the four were Resistance fighters or civilians.
Resistance launches counter attacks on American Marines in ar-Ramad at midday, having allowed them to get into narrow lanes in the center of the city.
In a dispatch posted at 1pm Makkah time Wednesday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while earlier fierce fighting erupted in various parts of ar-Ramadi as Resistance fighters launched coordinated counter attacks on American troops engaged since dawn in a campaign against the city.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses as saying that the fighting was increasing in intensity at the time of reporting in the areas of the residential apartments, and the neighborhood of al-Mu‘allimin, and in the al-Mal‘ab (playing field) area of the city.
The correspondent reported that dozens of Resistance fighters appeared in the streets of the city after first allowing the American Marines to get into the center of town and into narrow lanes where they are particularly vulnerable to attack.
At the time of reporting US warplanes were rocketing the residential apartments area in eastern ar-Ramadi as battle continued to intensify. US snipers killed one Iraqi Resistance fighter in the first minutes after the Resistance launched its counteroffensive.
Residents begin fleeing their homes in northern and eastern ar-Ramadi in droves as American aircraft, helicopters attack. But as exit from the city is blocked by US forces, refugees have no place to go.
In a dispatch posted at 2pm Makkah time Wednesday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that dozens of residents of eastern and northern ar-Ramadi and their families had begun to flee their homes on foot after American fighter bombers and helicopters began rocketing and shelling the houses in their neighborhoods.
The ar-Ramadi correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that residents were leaving in an “unprecedented” wave as US forces dropped percussion explosives into those areas to force local people out. But since the Americans are not letting anyone enter or leave the city, the refugees who flee their homes under American attack find themselves running in circles.
As of the time of reporting, the correspondent said that there were no other representatives of the media in ar-Ramadi.
Puppet governor of al-Anbar Province said fleeing Iraq with his family; US military commander takes over.
In a dispatch posted at 2:10 pm Makkah time Wednesday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that word was circulating in ar-Ramadi that Ma’mun Sami Rashid, the puppet governor of al-Anbar Province – the capital of which is ar-Ramadi – had fled the country together with his family.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the puppet Directorate of al-Anbar Provincial Affairs as saying that “the governor was seen with his family in his personal car wearing a dishdashah and headcloth to make him look like an ordinary citizen. He was observed heading towards the Jordanian border,” the source added.
The source said that the American military commander in the city of ar-Ramadi had taken over the tasks of the puppet governor for the moment, signing official mail in the governor’s office.
Rashid was the target of an assassination attempt earlier in May when his motorcade was attacked by a Resistance car bomber while he was on his way to work.
Resistance begins rocket and mortar bombardments of US bases and troop concentrations in and around ar-Ramadi.
In a dispatch posted at 6:35pm Makkah time Wednesday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces had begun pounding US bases an troop concentrations in the east and north of ar-Ramadi with rockets.
The ar-Ramadi correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the Resistance fired seven rockets of various types as well as three heavy mortar rounds at the Agricultural College, a facility that the Americans have turned into one of their headquarters. The College had been a staging area where US troops were gathered since dawn Wednesday.
The correspondent reported that most of the rockets and mortar shells landed in or near the American troop concentrations, according to a Resistance source. The Resistance fighter told Mafkarat al-Islam that “we took coordinates of most of the expected target areas where American troops might concentrate during an offensive. That was several days ago. And now that’s what’s happened, so the bombardment was fruitful.”
The Resistance mounted a similar barrage on the US al-Warrar base west of ar-Ramadi, firing five Katyusha rockets and four 82mm mortar rounds into that facility. The Resistance bombarded various places where US troops were concentrated throughout the city the correspondent added.
Resistance reports destroying two US Humvees, one Abrams tank in afternoon fighting.
In a dispatch posted at 6:40pm Makkah time Wednesday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces had completely destroyed two US military vehicles and a tank in the course of battles that broke out in ar-Ramadi at midday Wednesday when Resistance fighters launched counterattacks on US Marines in the city.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a member of the Resistance as saying that two Humees and an Abrams tank during the fighting. The source also affirmed that nine American troops were killed or wounded on al-‘Arid [“Broad”] Street in the middle of the city. Three Resistance fighters were killed in the battle.
At the time of reporting, intermittent fighting was still continuing in the city, the correspondent reported.
By nightfall Wednesday, bodies of 11 victims of US offensive on ar-Ramadi had been brought to local hospital.
In a dispatch posted at 6:50pm Makkah time Wednesday evening, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while earlier the hospital of the city of ar-Ramadi announced that it had taken in five bodies of local residents killed by US gunfire.
The ar-Ramadi correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported Dr. Faz‘ Muhawish of ar-Ramadi Hospital as saying that among the dead are a woman and two children. All the victims were shot dead by American snipers in the city.
In all, the doctor said, the bodies of 11 local people killed by the Americans in their offensive on the city had been brought into the hospital since dawn. Five of those were women and children.
High explosive Resistance bomb leaves US soldier reported dead in ar-Ramadi.
In a dispatch posted at 7pm Makkah time Wednesday evening, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a high-explosive Iraqi Resistance bomb planted in a cooking gas cylinder and planted by the side of the road in the at-Ta’mim area blew up by a US military column at 6:30pm local time Wednesday afternoon
The ar-Ramadi correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam, who went to the scene of the attack, reported that the bomb went off opposite the as-Siddiq Markets in the middle of at-Ta’mim. The blast flipped an armored Humvee upside down. When the correspondent arrived on the scene, an American soldier was administering first aid to three wounded US troops lying on the ground near the overturned vehicle. A fourth American lay motionless nearby.
Local witnesses told the correspondent that the blast hurled one of the Americans out of the Humvee, killing him instantly. The witnesses said there was still a fifth American soldier under the overturned vehicle. The Americans on the scene had been unable to get him out. They were apparently awaiting help to arrive from the US base located three kilometers away from the scene.
Americans in control of 40 percent of ar-Ramadi as they settle into reinforced foxholes in the city for the night Wednesday evening.
In a dispatch posted at 8:45pm Makkah time Wednesday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that US and Iraqi puppet forces had set up camps and checkpoints and observation points throughout the parts of ar-Ramadi over which they had taken control in the north and northeast of the city on Wednesday. These correspondend to parts of the neighborhoods of al-Mal‘ab (the playing field) and as-Sufiyah.
The ar-Ramadi correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the Americans had put up big piles of sand bags and dug covered positions for themselves in the sidewalks and in the yards of empty houses.
The part of the city now under control of the Americans, the correspondent reported, amounted to about 40 percent of ar-Ramadi. They included the housing areas of al-Mukhabarat, ad-Dubbat, and al-Bu Jabir as well as a part of the as-Sikak neighborhood of al-Mal‘ab. US and Iraqi puppet troops are concentrated in those areas, but halted their advance into the rest of the city at sunset Wednesday.
Skies over western ar-Ramadi swarm with US aircraft after nightfall Wednesday.
In a dispatch posted at 8:55pm Makkah time Wednesday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the skies above the western part of ar-Ramadi, where the neighborhoods of at-Ta’mim and 7 April are located are swarming with US helicopter gun ships and war planes.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the curfew remained in force in the city but that the sounds of battle could be heard intermittently in various parts of the northern and southern sections of ar-Ramadi. The Americans fire flares over the city from time to time to help their helicopters as they search for anything moving in the city. With the curfew in force, anyone caught out after dark can be shot on sight.
US posts 120 snipers atop roofs in ar-Ramadi trying to prevent Resistance fighters from maneuvering.
In a dispatch posted at 10pm Makkah time Wednesday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance activist in ar-Ramadi had said that they estimated that more than 120 US snipers had deployed atop high buildings in the city. Many are now occupying the roofs of private homes that they have seized from local residents.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported Shaykh Abu Ihasan ad-Dulaymi as saying that the American snipers in such large numbers made it extremely difficult for Resistance fighters to move around and maneuver.
Ad-Dulaymi said that nevertheless, the invader troops were doomed to fail in this their latest offensive. “They haven’t said any thing about in their media or announcements because they don’t want any more disasters or embarrassments as happened to them in their other operations,” Shaykh ad-Dulaymi said. “The world would come back and stump them with the question ‘what have you accomplished in that operation?’ So this time they have launched an offensive unannounced, because their last operation in Samarra’ and the shame that came to them as a result of their miserable failure there made them launch their raids and offensives in this city without any media fanfare or show of force as happened in the past. The fact is that they were not able to do more than they have done today in ar-Ramadi this is the limit of their total strength,” Shaykh ad-Dulaymi told Mafkarat al-Islam.
posted by John Brown at 12.5.06
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