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A local resident
examines the debris after an overnight US raid into Ramadi.
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RAMADI,
Iraq, October 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - US marines
and Iraqi forces kicked off pre-dawn raids Tuesday, October 12, on at
least seven mosques in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, prompting firefights
in the city that left two Iraqis dead and outraging already frustrated
locals.
Meanwhile,
at least six Iraqi civilians were killed and several others were
injured overnight in fresh two US raids targeting a restaurant and a
house in Fallujah.
The
influential Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the preeminent
Sunni Muslim voice in Iraq, said the US troops had raided 30 mosques
across Ramadi, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
organization, which represents around 3,000 mosques all over Iraq,
further accused the Americans and Iraqis of arresting their
representative for Al-Anbar province, Sheikh Abdul Al-Aleem Al-Sadi,
along with his son, Osama.
The
US military confirmed in a statement that Marines and Iraqi forces
launched their dragnet at 4:00 am (0100 GMT) and called in air
strikes, claiming that mosques were used as firing positions.
Iraqi
security forces “supported by marines and soldiers from the 1st
Marine Division, began a series of raids on seven mosques in Ramadi
today,” according to the statement.
The
mosques were suspected of “harboring known terrorists, storing
illegal weapons caches, promoting violence against the Iraqi people
and encouraging insurgent recruitment”.
“Cowboy
Behavior”
Hitting
back, helpless angry residents accused Americans of disrespecting the
sanctity of city mosques.
“This
cowboy behavior cannot be accepted,” Abdullah Abu Omar of the Ramadi
mosque told the Associated Press.
“The
Americans seem to have lost their senses and have gone out of
control.”
Hospital
sources said at least two Iraqis were killed and five others wounded
in the US-led raids.
On
Monday, October 11, a US aircraft also rocketed a mosque northwest of
Ramadi, claiming that “insurgents” opened fire from there on
Marines.
Ramadi
is the capital of western Al-Anbar province, home to Fallujah, where
resistance against the US presence in Iraq is at its most intense.
In
May, Abu Hanifa Mosque in Baghdad was
desecrated by US soldiers, who entered the holy
place with boots and threw copies of the Noble Qur’an.
On
April 7, the US occupation military admitted that a Cobra helicopter
slammed a
Hell Fire missile and a laser-guided precision
bomb into Abdulaziz Al-Samarai Mosque in Fallujah, killing up to 40
people.
More
Civilians Killed
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Local
residents examine a building destroyed in a US raid into Fallujah.
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Meanwhile,
up to six Iraqi civilians were killed overnight in US air strikes on
the restive town of Fallujah.
The
first raid at 12:01 am (2101 GMT) targeted Al-Haj Hussein restaurant
in central Fallujah, killing four employees and two security guards,
CNN said.
The
restaurant, located on the main road that divides Fallujah between
north and south, was completely destroyed. Bulldozers were brought in
to clear away debris in the hope of finding bodies.
Four
hours later, US aircraft struck the battle-scarred city, considered a
hub for Sunni resistance.
Targeting
Civilians
CNN
aired Tuesday footage of a US raid on Fallujah April 10, which
intentionally targeted at least 15 civilians.
The
video shows an F-16 pinpointing a group of Iraqis walking along a wide
street in Fallujah and then firing at them.
A
conversation between the pilot and a forward air controller could be
heard in the background.
“I
see numerous individuals ... take them out?” The pilot asked for the
controller’s permission, who answered, “Yes, take them out.”
Lt.
Gen. Robert Guard, an international security consultant, told CNN that
the air controller was not that close to figure out whether they were
“insurgents” or civilians.
He
also said that well-disciplined and organized “insurgents” cannot
appear in such a great number at a wide street without a cover.
The
military, however, maintained that it was one of the by-the-book
strikes, which target hideouts of the alleged Al-Qaeda operative Abu
Musab Al-Zarqawi.
Fallujah
resistance fighters and residents have vigorously denied
the presence of Zarqawi in their town, adding they were simply
defending their homeland against occupation forces.
In
April, at least 700 Iraqis, mostly
women and children , were killed and 1,500 others
injured when the US occupation forces imposed a tight siege on the
town and intensified air strikes on its densely-populated areas.
On
September 18, Amnesty International blasted the US for its barbaric
raids on Fallujah.
