High US Casualties Reported Monday As Iraq Unrest Continues

Following one of the worst weekends of violence, attacks raged through out Iraq on Monday, with several car bombings carried out and at least two dozen US soldiers were reported killed or wounded in escalating attacks that continued throughout the day.

In a dispatch posted at 3:55pm Mecca time Monday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while earlier a martyrdom fighter drove an explosives-laden car into a US armored column on the main road linking Rawah in western Iraq with the city of al-Qa’im on the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Residents of Rawah who witnessed the attack told the local correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam that a fighter drove a booby-trapped car into a column of six US armored vehicles and two Humvees, catching the Americans by surprise and blowing up despite their last minute gunfire sprayed in his direction. The blast totally destroyed one American armored vehicle, reportedly killing or wounding all the members of its six-man crew.

In the same dispatch, the correspondent also reported that violent fighting had erupted between Resistance forces and US troops on the main street in Rawah earlier. The correspondent said that Resistance fighters used various weapons, including light and heavy arms and RPG7 rocket-propelled grenades, BKC machine guns, and pipe rockets, in the fifteen-minute battle. The correspondent reported that he was unable to ascertain the extent or nature of US casualties due to the ferocity of the gun battle and the large number of American snipers posted in the central area of Rawah.

Double Car Bombing In Rawah Reportedly Leaves 20 Americans Dead Or Wounded

In a bulletin posted at 2:58pm Mecca time Monday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short time earlier two martyrdom fighters drove two explosives-packed cars into a column of eight Humvees and four US armored vehicles on the main road in the western Iraqi city of Rawah in a simultaneous two-pronged attack.

A source in the puppet so-called “Iraqi rapid deployment force” who declined to be identified told Mafkarat al-Islam that the two martyrdom attackers were able to break into the US column at nearly the same moment, setting four Humvees on fire and reportedly killing or wounding 20 American troops.

Witnesses told Mafkarat al-Islam that they saw four American vehicles on fire on the main road, as US troops backed up by helicopters moved in to seal off the area. Then a huge Chinook helicopter landed in the area to transport away the burning vehicles and the casualties.

Resistance Bomb Blasts US Column

A bomb exploded by a US military column on the main road linking al-Khalidiyah with al-Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad at 4pm local time Monday afternoon.

Witnesses told the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in al-Khalidiyah that a bomb that was planted by the side of the road blew up as a column of six US armored vehicles and two Humvees was passing by. The blast set one American armored vehicle on fire, reportedly killing or wounding all aboard.

US forces quickly surrounded the area preventing the correspondent from ascertaining the exact nature and extent of US casualties.

Roadside Resistance Bomb Kills US Soldier In As-Saqlawiyah

In a dispatch posted at 3:50pm Mecca time Monday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a joint US-Iraqi puppet patrol in the as-Saqlawiyah area north of Fallujah on Monday.

Owners of groves in as-Saqlawiyah told the Fallujah correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam that a bomb that was planted by the side of the highway that links Baghdad to Jordan blew up near the Japanese Bridge as a joint patrol was passing by. The blast set one US Humvee on fire, reportedly killing an American soldier and wounding three more. Also killed in the attack was one Iraqi puppet soldier.

US Soldier Reported Killed In Resistance Bombing In Fallujah

An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a joint US-Iraqi puppet patrol on as-Sadd (the Dam) Road south of al-Fallujah at 11am local time Monday morning.

The al-Fallujah correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported residents of the al-Jubayl area in the south of al-Fallujah who witnessed the attack as saying that a bomb planted by the side of the as-Sadd Road exploded as a joint patrol passed by, severely damaging one American Humvee and killing one US soldier and wounding a second, in addition to killing two Iraqi puppet troops.

Three US Troops Reported Killed In Firefight South Of Baghdad

Iraqi Resistance forces attacked a joint US-Iraqi puppet patrol on a farm road in the ‘Arab Jabbur area south of Baghdad at 2:30pm local time Monday.

A Baghdad correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam reported witnesses as saying that about 10 Resistance fighters armed with light and medium weapons, including RPG7 rocket-propelled grenades and BKC machine guns, attacked a joint US-puppet patrol sparking a firefight that lasted about 10 minutes.

In the course of their attack, the Resistance fighters set one American Humvee and one pickup belonging to the Iraqi puppet forces ablaze. Three US soldiers and five Iraqi puppet troops were killed and three other Americans were wounded.

Witnesses said that the Resistance fighters withdrew from the scene of the attack having suffered no casualties.

Afterwards, US troops backed up by their Iraqi stooges surrounded the area and launched a campaign of searches and raids looking for the attackers to no avail.

Six US Troops Reported Killed When Car Bomb Blows Up In Abu Ghurayb

In a dispatch posted at 10:40am Mecca time Monday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a car bomb exploded by a passing US patrol of five Humvees in the middle of Abu Ghurayb.

The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in Abu Ghurayb reported that the car bomb, which had been parked by the side of the road, blew up, destroying two Humvees and reportedly killing six US troops and wounding three more.

Four US Troops Reportedly Killed South Of Baghdad

A bomb exploded by a column of US armored vehicles on the road leading to the city of al-Musayyib, south of Baghdad, at 9am local time Monday morning.

Residents of Jarf as-Sakhr, south of Baghdad, told the local correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam that a bomb that was planted by the side of the road exploded when a column of four US armored vehicles and three Humvees passed by on its way to al-Musayyib. They said that the blast destroyed one of the armored vehicles, reportedly killing four US troops and wounding two more.

Quds Press reported witnesses as saying that an Iraqi Resistance car bomb parked by the side of the road had exploded next to a column of seven US vehicles, destroying one o them. The agency reported that immediately after the attack, US forces encircled the area preventing anyone approaching and then a helicopter arrived.

Two Puppet Policemen Killed In Resistance Attack In Baghdad

Iraqi Resistance forces attacked a patrol of the Iraqi puppet police in the Baghdad al-Jadidah area in the southeast of the occupied Iraqi capital. The Qatari News Agency (Qana) reported in a dispatch posted at 9:12am GMT that the puppet so-called “Iraqi interior ministry” announced that two puppet policemen were killed in the attack.

Car Bomber Kills Three US Troops In Al-Latifiyah

An Iraqi Resistance martyrdom fighter drove an explosives-laden car into a US military column in al-Latifiyah south of Baghdad at 9am Monday morning local time.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in al-Latifiyah reported that a martyrdom fighter drove an explosive Opel car into a US tank column on the highway leading to the provinces of the Middle Euphrates area of Iraq.

Residents of al-Latifiyah told the correspondent that the Resistance attacker drove his car at very high speed into the column of four tanks and four Humvees. The blast completely destroyed a Humvee, reportedly killing three US troops and severely wounding two more.

Five US Troops Reported Killed In Tikrit Car Bombing

A car bomb exploded near a joint US-Iraqi puppet patrol in the ad-Durah area south of Tirkit at 12 noon local time Monday. Witnesses told the Tikrit correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam that an explosives-packed car that was parked by the side of a road exploded as a joint patrol of four US Humvees and three pickups owned by the Iraqi puppet forces was passing by.

The blast destroyed two American Humvees, reportedly killing five US troops and wounding three more. Two Iraqi puppet soldiers were also said to have died in the bomb attack.

Five US Troops Reported Killed In “Huge” Bomb Explosion In Ad-Dulu‘Iyah

A large roadside bomb exploded by a US patrol of two American troop transport vehicles and four Humvees in the middle of ad-Dulu‘iyah, north of Baghdad at 10am local time Monday morning.

The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in ad-Dulu‘iyah reported local witnesses as saying that a massive bomb that was planted by the side of the main road in the city blew up in a very violent explosion, completely destroying one US personnel carrier and reportedly killing five US troops and seriously wounding three others.

Two US Troops Die During Barrage On Puppet Police Station

Iraqi Resistance forces fired four heavy 120mm mortar rounds into the Shahraban puppet police station in the Ba‘qubah area northeast of Baghdad at1pm local time Monday.

The Ba‘qubah correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the puppet police as saying that the Resistance mortar rounds blasted into the puppet police headquarters during a meeting between US military officers and puppet police officials in the building.

The source said that three of the four mortar rounds scored direct hits on the building, reportedly killing two US troops and wounding six more. Four puppet policemen were killed, one of them a captain.

Resistance Shoots Down US Black Hawk Helicopter

In a dispatch posted at 1:05pm Mecca time Monday, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces had shot down a US Black Hawk helicopter at the northern edge of Tall ‘Afar in northern Iraq.

The Tall ‘Afar correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported witnesses as saying that the Resistance fired a shoulder-launched Strela surface-to-air missile at the US helicopteras it was on a mission protecting columns of US forces on the main road north of Tall ‘Afar. The rocket scored a direct hit on the helicopter and it was seen crashing some 3km north of Tall ‘Afar.

Witnesses confirmed that the two-man crew of the aircraft was killed when the helicopter crashed to earth and exploded.