Tension escalate in Falouja, Bush declares combats phase over in Iraq, US victory
Iraq-USA, Politics, 5/2/2003

The US President George Bush announced the end of the main military operations in Iraq. From the board of the US Abraham Lincoln Carrier Bush said that the US and its allies achieved victory in the war.

Bush described the war on Iraq which lasted 6 weeks as mere "one victory in the campaign against terrorism" which started after the attacks of September 11, 2001 against the USA. Bush warned that the USA is not ready to leave Iraq. He added that moving from dictatorship to democracy will take time but it deserves every effort and the US will remain until "we complete our work." Bush also tried in his speech to relate and link the government of Saddam Hussein with al-Qaida organization despite lack of evidence on that. He added that the war against terrorism has not ended by toppling Saddam and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Meantime, tension escalated yesterday in al-Falouja to the west of Baghdad after seven American soldiers were injured in an attack by mortars at a building where they were positioned.

Lt. Franc Rosniblat of contingent 82 positioned in al-Fallouja said that two persons approached the building which was previously the headquarters of the Baath Party and threw two bombs from over the wall of the building.

The soldiers who were injured in the attack were taken to Baghdad for medical treatment. A statement by the American central leadership in Qatar said that six of the injured are in need of medical care.

News reports said that the headquarters of the American forces in the city was exposed to missile shelling dropped in its courtyard, noting that the American soldiers retaliated by opening fire indiscriminately in the streets and this resulted in wounding one citizen while in his way for dawn prayers.

The news added that great anger prevailed citizens after hearing the news on that and they started to organize spontaneous demonstrations demanding the evacuation of the American forces from their city.

In Baghdad the Iraqi communist party organized a demonstration at al-Fardous courtyard near Palestine hotel, to celebrate for the first time the May Day which fell May 1st ( Thursday). The demonstrators called for an Interim Iraqi government but without the supervision of the USA. Worthy mentioning that the Iraqi communist party was not invited to take part in the Iraqi opposition conference which was held last Monday.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Kurdistani Democratic Party, Masoud Barazani, said that several Iraqi officials started contacts to form an interim Iraqi government.

In press statements yesterday, Barazani said that five groups of the former Iraqi opposition met on Wednesday to discuss the political future of Iraq. He explained that the participants in the meeting discussed necessary stages to fill the administrative, security and political gap emerging from the collapse of the government of Saddam Hussein.

The meeting was attended in addition to Barazani by the leaders of the Kurdistani National Federation Jalal al-Talibani, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress Ahmed Jalabi, the second man in the "higher council of the Islamic revolution" Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and the chairman of the "national reconciliation movement" Eyad Allawi.

Previous Stories:
  Bush declares end of combat; London groups for Iraqi conference; Rumsfeld in Baghdad after 20 years   (5/1/2003)
  Mubarak stresses right of Iraqis to choose own government   (5/1/2003)
  US funds to help recover Iraqi antiquities   (5/1/2003)
  Former Iraqi oil minister surrenders to occupation forces   (4/30/2003)

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