The Hindu : International : U.S. finds the going tough in Samarra

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Sunday, Oct 03, 2004

International

International

U.S. finds the going tough in Samarra

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, OCT. 2. American and Iraqi forces seeking to consolidate their hold over Samarra ahead of the January elections say they are facing resistance in the restive city.

Iraqi guerillas were attempting to set up roadblocks and rig car bombs to counter the U.S. intrusion. Nearly 5,000 troops, led by tanks, assaulted the city on late Thursday night.

`No-go zone'

Analysts point out that Samarra has become a resistance base since the end of May, and U.S. forces has recognised it as a "no-go" zone. Prior to the incursion, guerillas, including members of the Tawhid Wal Jihad led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had participated in a well-publicised demonstration in the city. Eyewitnesses said the U.S. warplanes had carried out fresh attacks while tanks rolled inside the city. Doctors said five more persons were killed overnight, adding to the toll of 109 claimed by the U.S. military yesterday. U.S. forces today declined to give Iraqi casualty figures, but said it had taken 80 persons into custody.

Iraqi troops accompanying U.S. forces stormed Samarra's main mosque on Friday to prevent guerillas from taking over it. Analysts saw this as a move to prevent a "Najaf-like" situation.

Casualties in Fallujah

The U.S.-backed Iraqi interim Government has said it intends to take over resistance controlled towns and cities, including Samarra, Fallujah, Ramadi, and Sadr City on the outskirts of Baghdad, as part of the preparations to hold elections in January. U.S. warplanes on Saturday also bombed Fallujah, killing at least seven persons and wounding 13.

Attacks mounting

Notwithstanding the U.S. intentions, a recent study by an American security firm has shown that resistance attacks have spiralled in September. The Miami-based Special Operations Consulting-Security Management Group has said in its report that guerillas had carried out more than 2,300 attacks last month in an area covering every major population centre outside the Kurdish north.

The study, pointing to the wide geographical sweep of the attacks, said there was not a single province in Iraq that did not experience an attack in the last 30 days.

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