US-led coalition forces bomb Shiite militia in Basra

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

BASRA, Iraq (AFP) - US-led coalition warplanes dropped bombs on Shiite militia positions in Basra overnight, directly entering the fray for the first time since the Iraqi army launched a crackdown in the city, a British military spokesman said on Friday.


The coalition forces also shut down the crossings on the Iraq-Iran border to prevent smuggling of weapons to Shiite militants fighting the Iraqi troops in the southern oil city.

Two bombing missions were carried out against specific targets overnight, Major Tom Holloway told AFP.

"It was on identified rocket teams in the city and there was a concentration of militia troops which was bombed," he said, adding that the bombings were the first by the coalition forces since Iraqi military operations started in Basra on Tuesday.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080328/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestbasrausbritain_080328112206

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U.S. forces drawn deeper into Iraq crackdown


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces were drawn deeper into Iraq's four day-old crackdown on Shi'ite militants on Friday, launching air strikes in Basra for the first time and battling militants in Baghdad.

~snip~

But Reuters television footage from Basra showed masked gunmen from Sadr's Mehdi Army still in control of the streets, openly carrying rocket launchers and machine guns.

A British Ministry of Defence spokesman said U.S. warplanes had opened fire in Basra for the first time in support of Iraqi units on the ground. British troops, which patrolled Basra until December, have so far remained on a base outside the city.

~snip~~

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080328/wl_nm/iraq_dc

Iraqi police in Basra shed their uniforms, kept their rifles and switched sides
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3635838.ece

[Ganja Ninja]

1. "Coalition"?

What coalition? The coalition of USAF, USN & USMC?

[saigon68]

2. Its a coalition of child murderers

Bombing a city to kill for oil

[soothsayer]

3. You forgot Poland

[anniebelle]

4. I think they left.

[maddezmom]

5. changed the source, AFP is more accurate

:hi:

[Warren Stupidity]

6. U.S. Planes Attack Militia Strongholds in Basra Fighting

Source: New York Times

BAGHDAD —American military forces conducted air strikes on targets in Basra late Thursday, joining for the first time an onslaught by Iraqi security forces intended to oust Shiite militias in the southern port city.

Two American war planes shelled two targets in Basra, entering the battle at the request of the Iraqi Army, which asked the American and British forces to make the strikes, according to Maj. Tom Holloway, a spokesman for the British Army in Basra.

The air strikes are the clearest sign yet that the coalition forces have been drawn into the fighting in Basra. Up until Thursday night, the American and British air forces insisted that the Iraqis had taken the lead, though they acknowledged surveillance support for the Iraqi Army.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/29/world/middleeast/29iraq.html?ref=world

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The Iraqi Army (aka the Badr Brigades) have failed to defeat the Mehdi Army in Basra. Petraeus's surge is exposed as a Garrison Baghdad strategy, and even then has not succeeded in reaching anything other than a ceasefire with the Shiite militias in Sadr City. Maliki is in serious trouble and the neocon's latest gambit is failing. Which errant course shall we stay next? Which failed strategy shall we be convinced that we must succeed at?

[tuckessee]

7. The more Americans bomb the more it shows they're losing control.

One can not defeat insurgencies with air power.

In fact, it's use is counter-productive, especially in urban areas.

It's a sign things may be getting desperate.

[struggle4progress]

8. Iraq violence puts pull-out of 1,500 UK troops in doubt

By ROSS LYDALL

PLANS for a spring withdrawal of around 1,500 British troops from Iraq are in jeopardy amid violent clashes in Basra.
At least 120 people are feared dead, with 450 wounded, after four days of fighting between Iraqi government forces and Shia militants, which also saw US planes bomb the city in a bid to calm the uprising.

Defence sources have stressed that a plan by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, to cut numbers from around 4,000 to 2,500 will only go ahead if supported by army generals in Iraq.

An update on how many troops will replace those deployed in December on a six-month tour of duty is expected in the next week.

Last night, a source said: "We're no longer talking about reducing to 2,500 at this time." ...

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/Iraq-violence-puts-pullout-of.3927197.jp