Iraq Rebels Shoot Down US Chopper
Apr 11, 2004
<b>FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sunday</b> - A brief truce was declared yesterday in the bloody US drive against insurgents in Fallujah, as coalition authorities sought to recover from a week of deepening woes for the US occupation of Iraq.
FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sunday - A brief truce was declared yesterday in the bloody US drive against insurgents in Fallujah, as coalition authorities sought to recover from a week of deepening woes for the US occupation of Iraq.
But the US-led coalition suffered a new setback as an Apache helicopter was downed by ground fire not far from here, and three Japanese hostages remained in captivity despite reports of their expected release.
Fighting eased off dramatically in this battered Sunni Muslim stronghold west of the capital after the 10:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) start of a ceasefire which a mediator said would pave the
way for a US pullback.
A senior official of the US-led coalition, who asked not to be named, confirmed a truce was in effect “for most of the day†between US marines and insurgents in Fallujah.
He gave no other details.
Only the occasional sniper fire, mortar rounds and some minor skirmishes punctured the relative calm in the town where more than 400 Iraqis have been killed and 1,000 wounded since Monday, an AFP correspondent in Fallujah said.
Marine sources said two US soldiers were wounded by sniper fire and an armed Iraqi was killed in a subsequent street clash. “We’ve got a ceasefire but they’re not honouring it,†said Captain Jason Smith.
A coalition spokesman said the Apache attack helicopter was downed by “unknown ground fire†in an unspecified area west of the capital, and the fate of the crew was unknown. The aircraft normally seats two.
The ceasefire in Fallujah came after some 5,000 families fled the battered town for the Iraqi desert, according to Adnane al-Juburi, the head of the Iraqi Red Crescent.
Hatem al-Husseini, a senior member of the Iraqi Islamic Party who helped broker the truce, said the two sides had agreed to an initial six-hour halt to hostilities.
“After that, a second phase will start with the progressive pullout of the marines from Fallujah and the deployment of Iraqi Police and Iraqi Civil Defence Corps (ICDC) to take over,†he added.
But there was no sign of any imminent American pullout. Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne, a battalion commander in Fallujah, said the marines were still ready to retaliate when in danger.
The ceasefire came with the year-old occupation under heavy criticism, struggling against Sunni and Shiite militants and rocked by the abduction of several foreign civilians.
Even US Secretary of State Colin Powell called it a “tough week.â€
Officials nervously awaited word on the whereabouts of three Japanese civilians kidnapped and threatened with a grisly death unless Tokyo pulled its 550 troops from Iraq.
The Kyodo news agency, quoting Japanese government sources, said a senior Iraqi official told Tokyo the three would be released at noon Japanese time (0300 GMT).
But hours later, Japanese officials manning a crisis cell in neighbouring Jordan said the hostages were still in captivity with various groups working to secure their freedom.
Ends
But the US-led coalition suffered a new setback as an Apache helicopter was downed by ground fire not far from here, and three Japanese hostages remained in captivity despite reports of their expected release.
Fighting eased off dramatically in this battered Sunni Muslim stronghold west of the capital after the 10:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) start of a ceasefire which a mediator said would pave the
way for a US pullback.
A senior official of the US-led coalition, who asked not to be named, confirmed a truce was in effect “for most of the day†between US marines and insurgents in Fallujah.
He gave no other details.
Only the occasional sniper fire, mortar rounds and some minor skirmishes punctured the relative calm in the town where more than 400 Iraqis have been killed and 1,000 wounded since Monday, an AFP correspondent in Fallujah said.
Marine sources said two US soldiers were wounded by sniper fire and an armed Iraqi was killed in a subsequent street clash. “We’ve got a ceasefire but they’re not honouring it,†said Captain Jason Smith.
A coalition spokesman said the Apache attack helicopter was downed by “unknown ground fire†in an unspecified area west of the capital, and the fate of the crew was unknown. The aircraft normally seats two.
The ceasefire in Fallujah came after some 5,000 families fled the battered town for the Iraqi desert, according to Adnane al-Juburi, the head of the Iraqi Red Crescent.
Hatem al-Husseini, a senior member of the Iraqi Islamic Party who helped broker the truce, said the two sides had agreed to an initial six-hour halt to hostilities.
“After that, a second phase will start with the progressive pullout of the marines from Fallujah and the deployment of Iraqi Police and Iraqi Civil Defence Corps (ICDC) to take over,†he added.
But there was no sign of any imminent American pullout. Lieutenant Colonel Brennan Byrne, a battalion commander in Fallujah, said the marines were still ready to retaliate when in danger.
The ceasefire came with the year-old occupation under heavy criticism, struggling against Sunni and Shiite militants and rocked by the abduction of several foreign civilians.
Even US Secretary of State Colin Powell called it a “tough week.â€
Officials nervously awaited word on the whereabouts of three Japanese civilians kidnapped and threatened with a grisly death unless Tokyo pulled its 550 troops from Iraq.
The Kyodo news agency, quoting Japanese government sources, said a senior Iraqi official told Tokyo the three would be released at noon Japanese time (0300 GMT).
But hours later, Japanese officials manning a crisis cell in neighbouring Jordan said the hostages were still in captivity with various groups working to secure their freedom.
Ends