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Unrest in Shiite district over attacksCrowd chants 'No, no America'
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Anti-U.S. feeling swirled among worshippers and demonstrators Friday in the sprawling Shiite slum where two U.S. soldiers were gunned down and eight Iraqi police officers were killed in a suicide attack a day earlier. Such violence has so far been rare in the neighborhood, Sadr City, which was a base of anti-Saddam Hussein sentiment. But the depressed district now may become a center of resistance to the U.S. occupation, and a powerful imam with a huge power base there, Muqtada al-Sadr, has taken an anti-American stand. On Friday, the Muslim holy day, thousands of Shiites turned out for a funeral for a person who apparently died during an ambush on U.S. troops. Soldiers were on routine patrol in Sadr City when they were ambushed Thursday night. Two soldiers from the 1st Armored Division were killed and four were wounded when assailants opened fire with small arms and "unknown heavier weapons," according to a coalition official. Witnesses and a cleric said two Iraqis died and two others were wounded. Hours earlier, a suicide bombing killed eight Iraqi police officers in an attack that was the first of its kind in Sadr City. (Full story) In Friday's street protests, Shiites ritually flagellated themselves, carrying pictures of al-Sadr and chanting, "There is no God but Allah. America is the enemy of God." Hundreds of the mourners were carrying weapons. As many as 6,000 worshippers gathered in front of the Sadr City municipal offices near the ambush site for Friday prayers and a sermon was delivered by an al-Sadr aide, Sheikh Abdel-Hadi al-Daraji. "America claims to be the founder of freedom and democracy. That is wrong. Instead, it is nothing but a terrorist organization that leads the world through its terrorism and its reckless arrogance," the cleric said. "It is forbidden for the American forces to enter Sadr City, especially for the next few days because the sons of Sadr City reject their presence." The crowds chanted "No, No America!" There were armed guards protecting the clerics and the worshippers, many incensed about the American military presence and the Thursday night incident. One military official disputed reports that the U.S. troops were embarking on a raid. "This was a routine patrol that was lured into a specific area with the idea of humanitarian assistance and then ambushed. And from our reports, it was a deliberate and planned ambush. This was not a hasty act," said Lt. Col. George Krivo, Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman. Soldiers were attacked by small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices. Krivo said there is no proof of any Iraqis killed during the ambush. An Army quick reaction force went to the scene and helped remove the patrol. Also Thursday -- which marked six months since U.S. troops rolled into Baghdad -- a rocket-propelled grenade attack killed a 4th Infantry Division soldier traveling in a convoy near Ba'qubah, north of Baghdad, around 2 a.m. local time (6 p.m. EDT Wednesday), U.S. Central Command said.
Since the Iraq war began in March, 326 U.S. troops have been killed, 209 in hostile attacks. There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures, either during the period of major combat or after May 1. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said that the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher. President Bush on Thursday acknowledged the six-month milestone during a speech in New Hampshire. "There's only one decent and humane reaction to the fall of Saddam Hussein: Good riddance," Bush said in a speech to New Hampshire National Guard troops and reservists. Baghdad fell to U.S. troops on April 9 and Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1. But the ongoing turmoil in the country was underscored by the shooting death of a Spanish diplomat in Baghdad. (Full story) Cheney: 'Single day of horror'Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday that terrorists are "doing everything they can" to get weapons of mass destruction that could kill hundreds of thousands of Americans "in a single day of horror." (Full story, White House tries new PR approach on Iraq) In a speech staunchly defending the U.S.-led war in Iraq as part of the Bush administration's efforts to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, Cheney said the arguments over the administration's handling of Iraq are "helping to frame the most important debate of the post-9/11 era." Other developments
• United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday said that Security Council members are still discussing the draft resolution on Iraq proposed by the United States and "we will know in the next few days what is going to happen." Asked if it would be a setback for the United States if the resolution did not come to a vote, Annan said, "I think the important thing is that member states are discussing these issues very, very seriously. It is a very complex and crucial issue. What is important is that we come up with a good resolution, not a quick resolution." • With the latest poll showing Wesley Clark at the front of the pack, his Democratic presidential rivals ratcheted up their criticism of the retired general Thursday evening, taking issue with what they see as flip-flops in his views on the Iraq war and President Bush's performance. In the latest Democratic debate, televised exclusively by CNN from the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix, Clark was pressed for differing statements he has made about whether he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing war in Iraq. He insisted he would "never have voted for war." "I would have voted for a resolution that took the problem to the United Nations. I would not have voted for a resolution that would have taken us to war. It's that simple," he said. (Full story, The Morning Grind) • U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld canceled a news conference Thursday, in part to avoid questions about whether the White House recently reduced his role in Iraq's reconstruction, Pentagon and NATO officials said. The White House said Monday it is creating an Iraq Stabilization Group to be headed by national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. The group will be responsible for handling the day-to-day administration of Iraq, a task previously handled by the Pentagon. Rumsfeld was questioned at Wednesday's NATO press briefing about his relationship with Rice, a memo she circulated establishing the new Iraq Stabilization Group, and whether he was "in the loop." (Full story) CNN's Jane Arraf, Harris Whitbeck and Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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