 |
|
U.S. forces came under fresh mortar and grenade attacks in Iraq
|
BAGHDAD,
July 10 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - U.S. President George
W. Bush on Thursday, July 10, admitted his government had security
problems in Iraq, as two more American soldiers were reported killed
overnight in separate attacks in the war-ravaged country.
One
attack targeted a U.S. convoy in Saddam Hussein's town of Tikrit north
of Baghdad at around 10:30 pm (1830 GMT) Wednesday, July 9, killing
one soldier and wounding another, Specialist Nicci Trent was quoted by
Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.
In
a separate attack in Mahmudiyah, south of the capital, One soldier was
killed, when a convoy was ambushed with small arms fire at around 6:30
pm (1430 GMT) on Wednesday, a U.S. Central Command said in a
statement.
A
military spokesman had initially said two soldiers were killed in that
attack.
U.S.
forces in Iraq also came under four mortar or grenade attacks
overnight, but there was no immediate reports of casualties, according
to the U.S. military.
A
U.S. military spokesman said troops came under rocket-propelled
grenade attack in Tikrit north of Baghdad, while three separate mortar
attacks hit Ramadi, west of the capital.
Residents
in the flashpoint town of Fallujah also said that U.S. positions had
come under attack with RPGs and mortars overnight, again without
reports of any casualties. The U.S. military said it was unaware of
any incidents in the town, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of
Baghdad.
‘Security
Issue’
 |
|
"There
is no question we have got a security issue in Iraq," Bush
|
As
anti-American attacks are raging on an almost daily basis, Bush
admitted his forces are bogged down in security problems.
"There
is no question we have got a security issue in Iraq," Bush said
in Gaborone on the third leg of a five-nation African tour, few hours
after the killing of the two soldiers.
"We
are just going to have to deal with it person by person. We are going
to have to remain tough," said Bush.
He
said that as more Iraqis became involved in a transition government
for Iraq, they would realize that those mounting attacks on occupying
U.S. forces were "apologists for Saddam Hussein" who were
creating misery for their country.
"It's
going to take more than 90 to 100 days for people to recognize the
great joys of freedom and the responsibilities that come with
freedom," said Bush, under mounting pressure over the use of
flawed intelligence to justify the war to oust Saddam.
Most
of Iraqis are furious that U.S. forces did not make good on their
promises to restore order and turn over power to a national
representative government three-months into the end of the invasion.
The
internal struggle in Iraq was coupled with international cynicism over
the U.S. alleged search of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as
nothing of them have been found so far.
Protests
In
the flashpoint town of Fallujah midway between Baghdad and Ramadi,
former police and army officers protested outside the local government
building to demand U.S. troops leave the town immediately, after three
separate attacks overnight, residents said. There were no reports of
casualties.
They
gathered outside the main U.S. military compound to vent their
frustration against occupying troops in this flashpoint town 50
kilometers (30 miles) west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, an AFP
correspondent said.
"We,
the officers and police in Fallujah, can protect our town and the U.S.
must leave immediately," one banner read.
U.S.
soldiers leveled guns at demonstrators in the standoff, hours after
U.S. forces came under attack in three separate pre-dawn incidents.
Fallujah,
a Sunni Muslim stronghold, has been the scene of repeated attacks on
the 4,000 U.S. troops deployed there since they shot dead at least 16
protesters in late April.
Mortars
also hit a logistics base near Balad, north of Baghdad, damaging a
vehicle, but without causing any casualties, the spokesman added, in
the latest of what seems to be a continuous string of attacks on U.S.
troops.
The
attacks against occupation forces has become to be of daily
occurrence, as anti-American sentiments are on the rise among local
inhabitants demanding an end to occupation.
A
total of 74 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq in the 71 days
since U.S. President George W. Bush declared
an end to major hostilities, 29 of whom were killed in combat
operations, according to a Defense Department official.
The
Pentagon, meanwhile, said 1,044 American servicemen and women have
been wounded in action or injured since the invasion of Iraq began
March 20.
Of
that total, 382 have been wounded since Bush’s declaration,
according to the Pentagon's figures.
