Mob of Iraqis burns, abuses U.S. corpses
Advertiser News Services
FALLUJAH, Iraq — Four American civilians under contract to the Pentagon were killed yesterday by guerrillas in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, and their bodies were mutilated by a mob whose celebration brought to mind the shocking American losses in Somalia a decade ago.
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In actions the White House called "despicable," a corpse was carted through town as people slashed it with knives, beat it and jabbed it with poles. A burning body was doused with gasoline. Two charred bodies were hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates River.
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Not far from Fallujah, five U.S. soldiers also died yesterday. A bomb exploded under their armored vehicle, ripping a giant crater in the ground.
With a June 30 deadline looming for the U.S.-led occupiers to hand over power to the Iraqi people, yesterday's brutality demonstrated the lawlessness in parts of Iraq. Long after the Americans were killed in Fallujah, as what was left of their bodies lay in the streets, no U.S. soldiers or Iraqi police arrived to restore order.
While a man in the mob called the attack "the fate of all Americans who come to Fallujah," U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said it was a sign of the desperation of those who oppose U.S. plans for the future of Iraq.
Witnesses said violence in the Fallujah area continued today, with an attack on a U.S. convoy that left a Humvee in flames. The military could not confirm that attack, although American forces briefly blocked roads leading into Fallujah.
Associated Press
The four men killed in the Fallujah ambush were not immediately identified. Officials said they were employed by a private security firm, Blackwater Security Consulting of Moyock, N.C., which issued a statement confirming the deaths of four employees.
An Iraqi youth cheered yesterday in front of a burning vehicle in Fallujah, west of Baghdad. Gunmen attacked two cars carrying four American civilian contractors. They were killed, and their bodies were mutilated by the crowd.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan blamed terrorists and loyalists of deposed president Saddam Hussein for the "horrific attacks," and vowed they would not alter U.S. plans to turn over political power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30.
Yesterday's violence came five days after a running gun battle in the streets of Fallujah left 15 Iraqis and one Marine dead. The city, about 35 miles west of Baghdad, has been the site of some of the fiercest anti-American attacks in the country. None of the earlier violence, however, featured the grisly acts played out across the center of Fallujah for hours yesterday.
Iraqi witnesses said the ambush was carried out by three insurgents who drove into town on a large truck. After shooting the four Americans, the attackers left the area, witnesses said. The desecration of the victims' bodies was perpetrated by mobs of enraged townspeople.
Lt. Col. Jalal Sabri Khamis Taee, the head of police patrols in Fallujah, said 11 of his officers arrived after the killings and found "hundreds of people, old and young" chanting slogans against the Americans.
"Long live Islam" and "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great"), they said while flashing victory signs. Others chanted, "Fallujah is the graveyard of Americans."
"I am happy to see this," 12-year-old Mohammed told Reuters. "The Americans are occupying us, so this is what will happen."
Crowds carried the bodies of two victims to the nearby Euphrates River and hanged the corpses from one of two bridges. Hours later, the bodies were cut down, tossed onto a pile of tires and set afire.
The bodies were then dragged behind a donkey cart to Fallujah's municipal building and dumped there, only to be tied to the bumper of a car and dragged away to an unknown location.
By nightfall, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which took over responsibility for security in western Iraq last week, had not entered Fallujah to retrieve the bodies.
The scene was reminiscent of the 1993 street battle in Mogadishu, Somalia, in which a crowd dragged the corpse of a U.S. soldier through the streets. The incident, depicted in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down," contributed to the Clinton administration's decision to pull troops out of the East African country.
The deaths of the four Americans brought to 16 the number of foreign civilians killed in Iraq since March 9, including two Finns and one citizen each from Britain, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.
The statement issued by Blackwater Security said four members of its staff had been killed while providing security on a food convoy for a U.S. government subcontractor.
Blackwater Security is a division of Blackwater USA, which has a 6,000-acre training site in northeastern North Carolina. Blackwater trains security and law enforcement personnel for domestic and overseas assignments, and emphasizes its use of former Special Operations forces — particularly Navy SEALs, an elite commando unit.
Some witnesses said the insurgents planned yesterday's ambush in advance. Esam Yassin, 22, who sells biscuits and soft drinks at a small shop on Highway 10, said owners of businesses along the four-lane road were warned yesterday morning to stay away from the area because of an impending clash with the Americans.
The attack occurred in a normally busy commercial district. But yesterday, Yassin said, the morning streets were nearly devoid of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Yassin said insurgents were circulating the message: "We will be waiting here for them, and a big battle will happen. So we don't want civilians to be around."
Fallujah, a city of 100,000 about 35 miles west of Baghdad, was a Saddam Hussein stronghold and quickly became a focal point of armed opposition to the United States. The area is in the Sunni Triangle — roughly between Baghdad, Ramadi and Tikrit — that has most fiercely resisted U.S. control. At least 17 U.S. troops were killed in the area in March.
A day before, Kimmitt, deputy commander of operations in Iraq, had given an upbeat assessment of Fallujah and surrounding Anbar province, where Marines took over from the 82nd Airborne Division two weeks ago.
"The Marines are quite pleased with how things are going in Fallujah, and they're looking forward to continuing the progress in establishing a safe and secure environment and rebuilding that province in Iraq," the general had said.
Yesterday, he said, "Fallujah is one of those cities in Iraq that just doesn't get it."
Yesterday's bombing of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle near Habbaniya brought to 408 the number of U.S. troops killed in combat since the invasion of Iraq.
The Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Miami Herald and Associated Press contributed to this report.
