More than 70 people lost their lives yesterday in Iraq
A suicide attack on a police station in Baghdad claimed the lives of 47 people. Resisters also ambushed a police bus in Bakuba, killing twelve Iraqi policemen. Al-Qaeda sympathizer Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s Tawhid and Jihad group claimed responsibility for the attacks.
In addition to the Baghdad bloodbath there is great panic among the inhabitants of Felluce (Fallujah). American troops called upon civilians to leave the city that is considered to be the center of the Sunni resistance. There are fears that the US is about to mount a large scale offensive against the city.
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s announcement that Turkey’s cooperation with the US on Iraq would end if the situation continued reverberated throughout Washington. The US State Department insisted that Turkey and the US are continuing to work together very closely in Iraq. In one development, The American army lifted the siege on the predominately Turkmen city of Telafer yesterday. Inhabitants who had fled the city began returning to their homes.
In Baghdad, the suicide bomb attack on the police station on Hayfa Street left 47 dead. Many the victims were young Iraqi men waiting to sign up for the police force. The explosion also rendered more than ten vehicles useless.
Iraqis who lost loved ones in the blast vented their anger at the US and Iraqi government for not providing adequate security to prevent such a tragedy. They shouted slogans against the Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and US President George W. Bush.
13 people lost their lives during fighting on the same street last Sunday (September 12). An American helicopter reportedly fired rockets on Iraqis during the Sunday clashes. In addition, three other people lost their lives in separate incidents in Baghdad yesterday.
US Readies for Operation in Fallujah
American soldiers reportedly called upon the civilians in Fallujah to leave the city. The American army brought in additional armored fighting vehicles as a large scale offensive against the city seems imminent. The US troops control all the access points to the city, but they have not recently ventured to make a move against the resisters inside the city.
