Cliff LyonAnother Bad Day for The Troops..er, Iraqis
Hundreds Die in Clash Near Shiite Holy City 
Monday 29 January 2007
Baghdad - Iraqi and American forces killed several hundred gunmen apparently planning to attack a Shiite Muslim shrine Sunday, fighting a daylong battle in which a U.S. helicopter crashed, killing two U.S. troops, Iraqi security officials said.
The fighting near the holy city of Najaf on the eve of the Shiite holiday of Ashura came as a mortar attack killed five teenage girls at a school in Baghdad and the daily nationwide civilian death toll again climbed past 100.
The cause of the helicopter crash near Najaf was unclear, but U.S. and Iraqi officials said there was ground fire before the craft went down, and witnesses said they saw it shot out of the sky. It was the third U.S. helicopter to go down in Iraq in eight days.
January 29th, 2007 at 11:05 am
I wonder how many in the Bush administration have any idea of the significance of the Mahdi, the Islamic messiah. I recommend watching Khartoum (1966). At the time it was made, it was just an underrated historical drama. Sir Lawrence Olivier portrays Muhammad Ahmad, who in 1881 proclaimed himself to be the Mahdi. In today’s context, the film’s Academy Award nominated screenplay has a lot of relevant things to say.
January 29th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
MERCY!
Now in darkness, world stops turning
As the war machine keeps burning
No more war pigs of the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of judgment, God is calling
On their knees, the war pigs crawling
Begging mercy for their sins
Satan, laughing, spreads his wings….
Oh Lord now!
January 29th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I’d like to understand what the hell happened near Najaf, but there are too many conflicting stories. IraqSlogger has a news roundup. The body counts are probably wild guesses at best.
January 29th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
good one cassandra. is that your original work product?
January 29th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
That’s OZZY bro!!!
January 29th, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Uh…Sister?
January 30th, 2007 at 12:52 am
I am deeply saddened by the loss of our service personnel. I won’t shed a tear for the gunmen that were killed. They were preparing to attack a shrine on a holy day. Sounds to me like they got what they deserved. To bad more of them were not casualties. The Iraqi security forces and our troops did the right thing and I applaud them for it. A job well done.
January 30th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Brian, Can you prove the gunman were planning to blow up a mosque?
January 30th, 2007 at 9:08 am
Journalists are doing their best to figure out the Najaf battle from various sources (apparently the US military is not providing any information). What seems clear from the New York Times report is that the Iraqi forces were overwhelmed and were getting beaten before they got American and British air support and US Army tank force on the ground.
January 30th, 2007 at 11:03 am
All the accounts I have heard and read say they were planning to “planning to attack a Shiite Muslim shrine “. Even the quote you used in the original post. I have not found one that counters that claim. If you have I would be interested in reading it.
January 30th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Whatever, it is it is clear the Iraqi forces have the same mettle of Hessians in our own War for Independence.
Once we Americans leave in this debacle, we can expect the “insurgents” to soundly thrash these uncommitted, untalented, unavailable, and simpering forces. Must we then remain forever?
These government troops, if we can loosely call what they serve a “government” are not soldiers of Conviction, and we would be well rid of them, and rid ourselves of the place as well.