top
Iraq
Iraq
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Iraqis Drag Bodies Through Streets After Attack

by repost
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - A crowd of cheering Iraqis dragged charred and mutilated bodies through the streets of the town of Falluja Wednesday after an ambush on two vehicles that witnesses said killed at least three foreigners.
r1512140216.jpg
Iraqis drag the body of a man after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. Insurgents attacked two cars and set them on fire, burning several passengers and dragging one body outside, dancing around it and making the victory sign, witnesses said. REUTERS/Reuters Video News

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040331/ids_photos_wl/r1512140216.jpg

In a separate attack five American soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb was detonated beside their convoy west of Baghdad, the U.S. army said.

The Falluja violence began when two four-wheel-drive vehicles were attacked by guerrillas on a main road in the town, 32 miles west of Baghdad. A crowd then set the vehicles ablaze and hurled stones into the burning wreckage.

Television pictures showed one incinerated body being kicked and stamped on by a member of the jubilant crowd, while others dragged a blackened body down the road by its feet.

The footage showed at least three people lying dead, while some witnesses said that four were killed.

It was not clear who had been in the vehicles, both four-wheel drives of the type used by foreign contractors, journalists, civilian members of the U.S.-led coalition and some military personnel.

As one body lay burning on the ground, an Iraqi came and doused it with petrol, sending flames soaring.

At least two bodies were tied to cars and pulled through the streets, witnesses said.

"This is the fate of all Americans who come to Falluja," said Mohammad Nafik, one of the crowd surrounding the bodies.

Some body parts were pulled off and left hanging from a telephone cable, while two incinerated bodies were later strung from a bridge and left dangling there.

A young boy beat one of the incinerated bodies after it was pulled down with his shoe as a crowd cheered.

"I am happy to see this. The Americans are occupying us so this is what will happen," said Mohammad, 12, looking on.
No U.S. soldiers or Iraqi police were seen in the area after the attack, but a U.S. fighter plane screamed overhead, prompting the crowd around one of the burned corpses to scatter.

Witnesses said they saw anywhere between four and eight people in the cars before they were attacked.

Some of the victims were wearing civilian clothes, flak jackets and were armed, witnesses said, but that was not clear from the television footage. One of those killed had fair hair and was wearing khaki trousers and a white T-shirt.

As the victims lay burning, a crowd of around 150 men chanted "Long live Islam" and "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Greatest") while flashing victory signs.

Falluja has been one of the most violent, restive towns in Iraq since the U.S.-led occupation began. There are almost daily attacks on U.S. military convoys in the area.

FOREIGNERS TARGETED

More than 400 U.S. soldiers have been killed in action since the start of the war, many of them in attacks using improvised explosive devices in which an explosive charge is hidden in a plastic bag, soft drink can or dead animal and wired to a simple detonator.

As well as attacks on U.S. and coalition troops, there has been a sharp increase in insurgent strikes against foreign civilians in recent weeks.

In March alone, 12 foreign civilians have been killed in drive-by shootings or similar attacks. In the most recent incident, a Briton and a Canadian, both working as security guards, were shot and killed Sunday in the city of Mosul.

Earlier in March, two Finns were killed in Baghdad, and four U.S. missionaries were shot dead in Mosul. In Hilla, south of Baghdad, two Americans working for the U.S. civilian authority were shot in a drive-by shooting.

With less than 100 days to go before U.S. authorities hand over sovereignty to an Iraqi government, the U.S. military, Iraqi police and other local security forces are still battling to bring security to the country.

Attacks occur almost every day with rockets, grenades, assault rifles, small arms or suicide bombs somewhere in Iraq. Wednesday, a car bomb blew up in Baquba, about 25 miles north of Baghdad, wounding around a dozen people, while Tuesday a suicide bomber detonated his vehicle outside the house of the chief of police in Hilla, but killed only himself.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4712614§ion=news
§more pics
by more pics
capt.bag10803311349.iraq_bag108.jpg
Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as charred bodies hang from a bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, Wednesday, March 31 2004. Enraged Iraqis in this hotbed of anti-Americanism killed four foreigners Wednesday, including at least one U.S. national, took the charred bodies from a burning SUV, dragged them through the streets, and hung them from the bridge. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/040331/481/bag10803311349&e=10&ncid=708
§more
by more
mdf512846.jpg
Children point to a body part, tied to a brick and hanging from a telephone cable, after an attack in the restive town of Falluja March 31, 2004. A crowd of cheering Iraqis dragged charred and mutilated bodies through the streets of Falluja on Wednesday after an attack on two vehicles that witnesses said killed at least three foreigners. Photo by Ali Jasim/Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/newsGalaxyPhotoPresentation.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4712614&index=0

§more
by more
r3730998517.jpg
An Iraqi man looks at a Mitsubishi Pajero on fire after an attack in the restive town of Falluja, March 31, 2004. Insurgents attacked two cars and set them on fire, burning several passengers and dragging one body outside, dancing around it and making the victory sign, witnesses said. Photo by Reuters

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040331/ids_photos_wl/r3730998517.jpg
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
CK
Fri, Dec 10, 2004 12:08PM
gordon
Tue, May 11, 2004 8:15AM
gordon
Tue, May 11, 2004 8:15AM
well, well.
Sun, May 9, 2004 2:39AM
just wondering
Sat, May 1, 2004 11:15AM
ashgromnies
Sat, May 1, 2004 10:37AM
Free Iraq
Fri, Apr 2, 2004 8:49PM
such oppobrium
Fri, Apr 2, 2004 4:31PM
Craig
Fri, Apr 2, 2004 7:23AM
Craig
Fri, Apr 2, 2004 6:58AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network