Patrick Cockburn reporting from Iraq for the British newspaper, The Independent, writes that early unverified reports in the Middle East press say the military victory over a planned raid by religious zealots was actually the decimation of 200 members of the Hawatim tribe on pilgrimage to Najaf for the Ashura observance. The Hawatim are opposed to the Dawa party and the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq that make up the core of the current Iraqi regime and who both control Najaf.
The tribe, traveling on foot at night, was customarily armed. Fighting broke out at a government checkpoint near Zarga when the sentries opened fire and killed the tribe's chief riding in a car at the head of the pilgrimage. Members of a resident tribe, the Khaza'il, tried to intervene but were also fired upon. The security forces radioed that they were under attack by elements of Al Qa'ida using heavy weapons. US military responded with air attacks after dropped leaflets ordering the "terrorists" to surrender were ignored. A US helicopter was shot down, killing its two crewmen. 120 tribesmen and residents were killed in the bombardment early Monday morning. In all there were 263 killed, 210 wounded. This widely different account of the incident may explain the disparity in the numbers of casualties suffered by each side. One report says that only 25 government personnel were killed. Reporters are not being allowed to talk to survivors of the melee. And so it goes in a satanic version of the Wild West where we cannot even identify the enemy.
No comments:
Post a Comment