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Official: At least 250 insurgents in Najaf killed
POSTED: 2349 GMT (0749 HKT), January 28, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: U.S., Iraqi forces kill about 250 Najaf gunmen, official said
• NEW: U.S. helicopter downed near Najaf, military confirms; 2 dead
• Mortar attack near clinic in Hilla kills 10, including three children
• Mortar fire hits girls school in Sunni area; at least five students killed
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NAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi and U.S. forces have killed an estimated 250 to 300 gunmen in the Shiite holy city of Najaf during heavy fighting on Sunday, an Iraqi interior ministry official told CNN.
Those killed were part of a contingent of about 600 gunmen, stationed outside the city, the official said.
The insurgents intended to take control control of Najaf and kill Shia clerics including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the official added. (Watch what the insurgents planned in their attack)
A U.S. helicopter went down north of Najaf and two soldiers were killed, the U.S. military confirms. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, the military said. (Watch mobile phone video of smoke after a U.S. helicopter reportedly was shot down )
Gunmen in Najaf fired a missile at a U.S. helicopter, downing it near the city, Iraqi officials said.
Fighting in the city 100 miles south of Baghdad is still under way.
The helicopter incident comes just more than a week after a Black Hawk helicopter -- believed to have been downed by a shoulder-fired missile -- crashed in Iraq's Diyala province last Saturday, killing 12 U.S. soldiers on board. (Full story)
A helicopter belonging to the U.S. security firm Blackwater also went down in Iraq on Tuesday, after coming under heavy fire.
Video of the scene in Najaf showed U.S. military helicopters flying overhead amid heavy gunfire on the ground.
Armed Iraqi forces lay on the side of a hill, firing at targets as large plumes of smoke rose into the sky.
Iraqi police Col. Ali Jraiwi said the Iraqi forces were targeting a large number of Sunni insurgents who were planning to attack high-ranking Shiite clerics in Najaf.
Police and witnesses said the chopper was shot down over Zarqa, a town about six miles (10 kilometers) north of Najaf, Jraiwi said.
At least three Iraqi security forces were killed in Sunday's fighting, and 15 others were wounded, Jraiwi said.
Speaking on Iraqi TV, Najaf's governor said the insurgents targeted in Sunday's raid were planning attacks on Shiite Muslims heading from Najaf to Karbala for the annual holy period of Ashura.
Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. It culminates on Tuesday, which marks the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year. (Gallery)
Ashura observances were banned during the Saddam Hussein regime, when the Sunni Arab-dominated government kept a tight leash on the Shiite population. They resumed after Hussein was toppled in 2003.
Since then, the period has been marred by sectarian attacks, the bloodiest in 2004 when more than 180 died in explosions targeting Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala.
School children targeted
Meanwhile, Iraqi schoolgirls taking their midterm exams were the target of a mortar attack Sunday morning that killed five of the students and wounded 21, an Iraqi interior ministry official said.
Insurgents fired at least three mortar rounds at the al-Khulood girls secondary school in western Baghdad, the official said.
The girls who were killed were between the ages of 12 and 14 years. (Watch the scene at damaged school )
Those injured included students, employees and workers at the school in the mainly Sunni Adil neighborhood, which is under the jurisdiction of the Iraqi army, the official said.
Video from the scene showed blood spread across stone steps. The windows of classrooms were shattered.
A pupil aged around 15 named Ban Ismet told Reuters at Nuaaman Hospital that she was in the yard when the blasts hit and she was wounded in the legs: "I couldn't see much but what I saw was my friend Maha who was lying beside me on the ground.
"The shrapnel hit her in the eyes and there was blood all over her face. ... She was dead."
Bombs, mortar fire kill dozens
Bombs, mortar rounds and bullets killed and wounded scores of people Sunday throughout Iraq, Iraqi officials said.
Two mortar rounds hit a busy area near a medical clinic near Hilla, south of Baghdad, killing 10 people, including six women and three children, a Hilla police official told CNN.
At least two car bombs exploded in separate areas of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Sunday, killing 16 people and wounding 27 others, police told CNN.
In Baghdad, four bombs in different parts of the city killed 15 people and wounded more than 60.
Gunmen ambushed and killed an Industry Ministry adviser and his daughter, also a ministry official, an Interior Ministry official said. The gunmen also shot and killed their driver and bodyguard.
Baghdad police Sunday found 39 bodies dumped in the streets of Baghdad.
Other developments
Two U.S. soldiers and a Marine were killed Saturday in Iraq, the U.S. military said Sunday. The two soldiers were killed in separate roadside bomb attacks north of the Iraqi capital, the military said. The Marine was killed in fighting Saturday in Anbar province, according to the military. The number of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war now stands at 3,071. Seven civilian contractors for the military also have been killed.
The United States on Sunday was detaining an Iraqi-born Dutch citizen, extradited by the Netherlands' government, for allegedly conspiring to kill U.S. citizens in Iraq, the Dutch Justice Ministry said. (Full story)
POSTED: 2349 GMT (0749 HKT), January 28, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: U.S., Iraqi forces kill about 250 Najaf gunmen, official said
• NEW: U.S. helicopter downed near Najaf, military confirms; 2 dead
• Mortar attack near clinic in Hilla kills 10, including three children
• Mortar fire hits girls school in Sunni area; at least five students killed
Adjust font size:
NAJAF, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi and U.S. forces have killed an estimated 250 to 300 gunmen in the Shiite holy city of Najaf during heavy fighting on Sunday, an Iraqi interior ministry official told CNN.
Those killed were part of a contingent of about 600 gunmen, stationed outside the city, the official said.
The insurgents intended to take control control of Najaf and kill Shia clerics including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the official added. (Watch what the insurgents planned in their attack)
A U.S. helicopter went down north of Najaf and two soldiers were killed, the U.S. military confirms. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, the military said. (Watch mobile phone video of smoke after a U.S. helicopter reportedly was shot down )
Gunmen in Najaf fired a missile at a U.S. helicopter, downing it near the city, Iraqi officials said.
Fighting in the city 100 miles south of Baghdad is still under way.
The helicopter incident comes just more than a week after a Black Hawk helicopter -- believed to have been downed by a shoulder-fired missile -- crashed in Iraq's Diyala province last Saturday, killing 12 U.S. soldiers on board. (Full story)
A helicopter belonging to the U.S. security firm Blackwater also went down in Iraq on Tuesday, after coming under heavy fire.
Video of the scene in Najaf showed U.S. military helicopters flying overhead amid heavy gunfire on the ground.
Armed Iraqi forces lay on the side of a hill, firing at targets as large plumes of smoke rose into the sky.
Iraqi police Col. Ali Jraiwi said the Iraqi forces were targeting a large number of Sunni insurgents who were planning to attack high-ranking Shiite clerics in Najaf.
Police and witnesses said the chopper was shot down over Zarqa, a town about six miles (10 kilometers) north of Najaf, Jraiwi said.
At least three Iraqi security forces were killed in Sunday's fighting, and 15 others were wounded, Jraiwi said.
Speaking on Iraqi TV, Najaf's governor said the insurgents targeted in Sunday's raid were planning attacks on Shiite Muslims heading from Najaf to Karbala for the annual holy period of Ashura.
Ashura commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. It culminates on Tuesday, which marks the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year. (Gallery)
Ashura observances were banned during the Saddam Hussein regime, when the Sunni Arab-dominated government kept a tight leash on the Shiite population. They resumed after Hussein was toppled in 2003.
Since then, the period has been marred by sectarian attacks, the bloodiest in 2004 when more than 180 died in explosions targeting Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad and Karbala.
School children targeted
Meanwhile, Iraqi schoolgirls taking their midterm exams were the target of a mortar attack Sunday morning that killed five of the students and wounded 21, an Iraqi interior ministry official said.
Insurgents fired at least three mortar rounds at the al-Khulood girls secondary school in western Baghdad, the official said.
The girls who were killed were between the ages of 12 and 14 years. (Watch the scene at damaged school )
Those injured included students, employees and workers at the school in the mainly Sunni Adil neighborhood, which is under the jurisdiction of the Iraqi army, the official said.
Video from the scene showed blood spread across stone steps. The windows of classrooms were shattered.
A pupil aged around 15 named Ban Ismet told Reuters at Nuaaman Hospital that she was in the yard when the blasts hit and she was wounded in the legs: "I couldn't see much but what I saw was my friend Maha who was lying beside me on the ground.
"The shrapnel hit her in the eyes and there was blood all over her face. ... She was dead."
Bombs, mortar fire kill dozens
Bombs, mortar rounds and bullets killed and wounded scores of people Sunday throughout Iraq, Iraqi officials said.
Two mortar rounds hit a busy area near a medical clinic near Hilla, south of Baghdad, killing 10 people, including six women and three children, a Hilla police official told CNN.
At least two car bombs exploded in separate areas of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Sunday, killing 16 people and wounding 27 others, police told CNN.
In Baghdad, four bombs in different parts of the city killed 15 people and wounded more than 60.
Gunmen ambushed and killed an Industry Ministry adviser and his daughter, also a ministry official, an Interior Ministry official said. The gunmen also shot and killed their driver and bodyguard.
Baghdad police Sunday found 39 bodies dumped in the streets of Baghdad.
Other developments
Two U.S. soldiers and a Marine were killed Saturday in Iraq, the U.S. military said Sunday. The two soldiers were killed in separate roadside bomb attacks north of the Iraqi capital, the military said. The Marine was killed in fighting Saturday in Anbar province, according to the military. The number of U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war now stands at 3,071. Seven civilian contractors for the military also have been killed.
The United States on Sunday was detaining an Iraqi-born Dutch citizen, extradited by the Netherlands' government, for allegedly conspiring to kill U.S. citizens in Iraq, the Dutch Justice Ministry said. (Full story)
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