Sunni Rebellion Aids the US
Poor AQI…Foiled Again!
Friday, June 01, 2007 1:31 PM
BIG BLOW TO IRAQI QAEDA CITIZENS AID GI PUSH
June 1, 2007 — BAGHDAD - U.S. soldiers battled al Qaeda in Iraq’s capital yesterday after Sunni residents challenged the militants - and called for America’s help in ending the gunfire that has kept students from final exams and forced people in the neighborhood to huddle indoors.
Backed by helicopter gunships, U.S. forces joined the two-day battle in the Amariyah district, officials said.
The fight reflects a trend already apparent in the western part of Anbar province, once considered the headquarters of the Sunni insurgency.
Many Sunni tribes in the province have banded together to fight al Qaeda, claiming the terrorist group is more dangerous than American forces.
Lt. Col. Dale Kuehl, commander of 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, who is responsible for the Amariyah area of the capital, confirmed the U.S. military’s role in the fighting. He said the battles raged Wednesday and yesterday but died off at night.
Although al Qaeda is a Sunni organization opposed to the Shiite-dominated government, its ruthlessness and reliance on foreign fighters have alienated many Sunnis in Iraq.
The U.S. military congratulated Amariyah residents for standing up to al Qaeda.
“The events of the past two days are promising developments,” Kuehl said. “Sunni citizens of Amariyah that have been previously terrorized by al Qaeda are now resisting and want them gone.”
U.S.-funded Alhurra television reported that non-Iraqi Arabs and Afghans were among the fighters over the past two days.
Casualty figures were not immediately available. But the district councilman said the al Qaeda leader in Amariyah, known as Haji Hameed, was killed and 45 other fighters were detained.
Saif Fakhry, 26, an Associated Press Television News cameraman, was shot twice and killed in the turmoil in Amariyah yesterday.
He was spending the day with his wife, Samah Abbas, who is expecting their first child this month. According to his family, Fakhry was walking to a mosque near his Amariyah home when he was killed.
UPDATE!!
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