Explosions echo throughout Najaf after ceasefire breaks down

[54anickel]

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) U.S. armored vehicles and tanks rolled back into the streets of Najaf and troops battled Shiite militants in a vast cemetery Sunday in a resumption of fighting after the collapse of negotiations aimed at ending the standoff in this holy city.

The collapse of the ceasefire in Najaf came as more than a thousand delegates from across Iraq opened a National Conference in Baghdad seen as key to establishing democracy in the country.

Hours after the conference opened, insurgents fired a barrage of mortars that hit a commuter bus station in central Baghdad, scattering shards of glass, shrapnel and blood.

There were contradictory reports of death tolls. Police Lt. Yasser Fawaz, who was at the scene, said about 10 people were killed and about 15 others injured. Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdulrahman said the attack killed one person and injured five others.

more...

[54anickel]

1. What's Allawi up to? Did he call off the talks? Now Terra being used

to scare and chase off journalists?

snip>

Before the renewed violence Sunday, Mahdi Army militiamen were seen patrolling the streets of Najaf's Old City. Police officials warned journalists to leave the city, saying they had intelligence a car bomb might be sent to target them.

During the negotiations, al-Sadr demanded a U.S. withdrawal from Najaf, the freeing of all Mahdi Army fighters in detention and amnesty for all the fighters in exchange for disarming his followers and pulling them out of the shrine and Najaf's old city, aides said.

But on Saturday, Iraq's National Security Adviser Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie announced the talks were over, saying, ''After three days, my government thought there was no use in continuing.''

However, Qais al-Khazali, al-Sadr's spokesman in Najaf, said a deal had been reached and al-Sadr who was not in the talks himself had signed it, when ''we were surprised that they (the government negotiators) got instructions from Dr. Allawi to leave.''

[kentuck]

2. Allawi and the US forces have decided this is the turning point....

If they do not defeat the insurgents in Najaf, they will never have control over Iraq. They have decided to use whatever force is necessary to gain stability. The question is, will it spring up in other places if Najaf forces are destroyed? Will Sadr be a martyr?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. If they do not defeat the insurgents in Najaf

they will never have control over Iraq.<<

Funny thing... I thought they were shooting for a democracy.... or at least that is what I was told. Perhaps Saddam can give them a clue.

[bpilgrim]

3. the HUMAN WAVES will be NO MATCH for our MOABS

Human wave attack

Human wave attack is a military term describing a type of assault performed by infantry units in which soldiers attack in successive line formations.

Such attacks are common in all poorly equipped armies, or where the objective is of strategic importance.

The casualty rate is generally enormous, yet such attacks are often successful and therefore remain an accepted combat technique.

When Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviets fought back with human waves of Red Army troops against both advancing and entrenched enemy soldiers. Usually the Red Army soldiers were told to charge directly in a wide berth to strike every possible point in the German lines. In some battles the Soviets defeated the Germans after sustaining battle losses equal or more than the German losses.

During the 1950's The Viet Minh, under the command of General Giap, successfully used the human wave attack method against the entrenched French garrison at Dien Bien Phu (Vietnam), shocking the French government into seeking an end to the conflict in Indochina.

Human waves were also rampant in the Iran-Iraq War.

source...
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Human_wave_attack

peace

[54anickel]

5. Oops, forgot the link

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/228/world/Explosions_echo_throughout_Naj:.shtml