The girls' uncle points at their blood traces

By Imam El-Leithy, IOL Correspondent

DIYALLAH, December 2 (IslamOnline.net.net) – Leaving home, Azra and Fatma, eight and ten years old, have nothing in mind rather than to collect woods from a nearby area, the only alternative for fuel as gas vanished from sight in this northeastern Baghdad city since the beginning of the U.S.-British invasion.

But the two sisters never came back. For the occupation forces, it is justified, but for their mother, it is not.

“U.S. soldiers fired more than 30 bullets at my daughters at random and less than 10 meters far,” lamented the grieving mother.

She remembered how American troops prevented her from getting out to save the two young sisters for six long hours.

The American soldiers insisted that these measures are necessary to curb rising waves of resistance operations, that left more than 79 of them dead in November alone.

But the furious local inhabitants heaped their anger over military aggressions serving what they see as long-standing occupation.

“I thought they would appreciate my old age and allow us to see the girls, but I was mistaken as the American soldiers responded with threats and fire,” said the grand mother of the two children.

After humiliating appeals, the family members were allowed to drag the two daughters, but it was too late.

Azra and Fatma breathed their last 15 minutes earlier, with one’s head exploded and the other’s arms littered with shot marks.

“We could have saved them, but the American soldiers blocked our way,” said Mohamed Hussein, their uncle.

More Horrible

“We could have saved them, but the American soldiers blocked our way,” said Mohamed Hussein, their uncle

Other citizens remember much horrible scenes, with one remembering how the U.S. forces executed to death three youths before the naked eyes of their families.

“My son was returning from prayers in a nearby mosque in Ramadan, when U.S. forces opened fire at him and accompanying friend,” said Sheikh Khalaf, the father of one of the two youngmen.

Anmar was hit in his back, ducking to one of the nearby orchards, and Ibrahim was injured in his feet.

The soldiers traced Anmar, who braved the injuries to reach his home where his cousin Baqr was there.

“They fired at my son and his cousin 25 shots each, with all of us standing under arm threat,” Sheikh Khalaf remembered.

The U.S. military had ready-made excuse, those killed are loyalists to former Iraqi regime.

Here, people vehemently deny this, saying the attacks are meant to spread fear among Iraqis, seethed by more than six-month occupation of their oil-rich country.

“They are criminals, murderers and thieves. They also stole our staff from the house under claims for searching for weapons,” said the father defiantly.

“Furthermore, they prevented us from crying in consolation over Namer and Ibrahim, threatening to kill Ibrahim’s younger brother,” another family member continued.

“But my aunt went down of her knees in front of one of the soldiers, appealing for him not to do so,” he added.

On Monday, December 1, the U.S. army confirmed that U.S. soldiers killed 54 people one day earlier in the Iraqi town of Samarra, claiming they are guerrillas launching attacks against occupation troops.

But several witnesses in the Iraqi town asserted to the press that the dead were not "attackers but innocent people, including Iranians who were en route to visit the mausoleum of a Shiite authority", adding that some of them were killed during their prayers.

Threatening To Spy

In neighboring Nasr Al-Aswad neighboring village, sentiments do not bear much difference.

“Americans try to make spies among us to inform them of those carrying out resistance attacks against them,” Hadi Al-Tamimi said.

Tamimi said that U.S. forces thrust into the village a few days ago, asking the mayor for names of youngmen making trouble there.

The mayor declined to carry out their demands, saying he does rather be detained than work as a dog for the occupation forces.

Many Iraqis feel resistance is a legal right to occupation, and hail those attacking American forces, who had sparked public fury with daily massive raids and detentions of civilians. 

Next day, the whole village was shelled, including farmland, mosques and houses, leaving scenes of untold destruction.

For Ahmed Al-Hureibi, U.S. President George W. Bush’s secret whirlwind visit to the war-ravaged country serve as what he called a warning flag.

“If Bush is that afraid, he should prevent his dogs from killing and abducting our the Iraqis,” he said.

“Otherwise, we will face him with our blood”.

Seven Spaniards, two Koreans, two Japanese, two U.S. soldiers and a Colombian were killed in the weekend, the worst for occupation forces in Iraq.