US pounds Iraqi insurgents as UN envoy lays out political blueprint

FALLUJAH – US forces pounded insurgents overnight in the Sunni Muslim stronghold of Fallujah as UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi delivered his blueprint for a new Iraqi government to the Security Council.

Brahimi warned that fighting in cities like Najaf and Fallujah could have long-term consequences for the US-led coalition, which will hand over power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30. “Unless this stand-off is brought to a resolution through peaceful means, there is great risk of a very bloody confrontation,” he said.Even as he spoke in the council chamber in New York, a US AC-130 Spectre gunship aircraft circled over a suspected insurgent position in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, and hammered it with 105 mm Howitzer rounds.It “hit the target… (and) the anti-Iraqi forces fled to a nearby building.The aircraft shot at the building,” US marine Major T.V.Johnson told reporters at the US military base outside Fallujah.”There is no doubt it hit the targets,” he said.Marines said secondary explosions supported suspicions the insurgents were stockpiling weapons.AC-130 gunships have previously bombarded rebel positions during the course of more than two weeks of negotiations between the Americans and Iraqis over the siege of Fallujah, where guerrilla forces are surrounded by US marines.Iraq’s health ministry said 280 people had been killed in Fallujah since April 5, including 24 women and 30 children, with 820 wounded, although the figures did not appear to include those who did not make it to hospitals.Other estimates have put the death toll much higher.Despite the fighting, a ceasefire remains officially in operation and US civilian administrator Paul Bremer said joint US-Iraqi patrols would start in the town today, two days after they had been scheduled to begin.But US commanders said there were no plans to patrol Jolan, a densely-packed residential area that is considered too dangerous for marines on foot.On the second major front for US forces in Iraq, the holy Shi’ite Muslim city of Najaf, south of the capital, the situation remained tense after 64 Shi’ite militants were killed in US ground and air attacks overnight on Monday.Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the coalition, said guerrillas loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were targeted and killed in the attacks.Coalition officials have accused Sadr’s followers of stockpiling weapons in mosques and warned of an “explosive situation” in the city, which contains some of the holiest sites in Shia Islam.Sadr’s militia has been holed up in Najaf for more than two weeks with US forces massed outside.The young cleric is wanted for the alleged murder of a rival pro-US cleric last year.General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more heavy armour might be sent to Iraq given the upsurge in violence this month and the effectiveness of insurgent grenade and bomb attacks.He said many US divisional commanders had packed light in expectation that tanks and other heavy armour would not be needed more than a year after the fall of Baghdad.In New York, UN envoy Brahimi told the Security Council that Iraqis should choose members of a new government by the end of May to take over power from the US-led occupation in June.”Though it will certainly not be easy, we do believe that it shall be possible to identify, by the end of May, a group of people respected and acceptable to Iraqis across the country,” he said.”These individuals would then have approximately one month to prepare to assume responsibility for governing the country.”The caretaker government – led by a prime minister and a president – would have to reach “crystal clear understandings” on its relationship with the United Nations and any armed forces which remain, Brahimi said.- Nampa-AFP”Unless this stand-off is brought to a resolution through peaceful means, there is great risk of a very bloody confrontation,” he said.Even as he spoke in the council chamber in New York, a US AC-130 Spectre gunship aircraft circled over a suspected insurgent position in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, and hammered it with 105 mm Howitzer rounds.It “hit the target… (and) the anti-Iraqi forces fled to a nearby building.The aircraft shot at the building,” US marine Major T.V.Johnson told reporters at the US military base outside Fallujah.”There is no doubt it hit the targets,” he said.Marines said secondary explosions supported suspicions the insurgents were stockpiling weapons.AC-130 gunships have previously bombarded rebel positions during the course of more than two weeks of negotiations between the Americans and Iraqis over the siege of Fallujah, where guerrilla forces are surrounded by US marines.Iraq’s health ministry said 280 people had been killed in Fallujah since April 5, including 24 women and 30 children, with 820 wounded, although the figures did not appear to include those who did not make it to hospitals.Other estimates have put the death toll much higher.Despite the fighting, a ceasefire remains officially in operation and US civilian administrator Paul Bremer said joint US-Iraqi patrols would start in the town today, two days after they had been scheduled to begin.But US commanders said there were no plans to patrol Jolan, a densely-packed residential area that is considered too dangerous for marines on foot.On the second major front for US forces in Iraq, the holy Shi’ite Muslim city of Najaf, south of the capital, the situation remained tense after 64 Shi’ite militants were killed in US ground and air attacks overnight on Monday.Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the coalition, said guerrillas loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were targeted and killed in the attacks.Coalition officials have accused Sadr’s followers of stockpiling weapons in mosques and warned of an “explosive situation” in the city, which contains some of the holiest sites in Shia Islam.Sadr’s militia has been holed up in Najaf for more than two weeks with US forces massed outside.The young cleric is wanted for the alleged murder of a rival pro-US cleric last year.General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more heavy armour might be sent to Iraq given the upsurge in violence this month and the effectiveness of insurgent grenade and bomb attacks.He said many US divisional commanders had packed light in expectation that tanks and other heavy armour would not be needed more than a year after the fall of Baghdad.In New York, UN envoy Brahimi told the Security Council that Iraqis should choose members of a new government by the end of May to take over power from the US-led occupation in June.”Though it will certainly not be easy, we do believe that it shall be possible to identify, by the end of May, a group of people respected and acceptable to Iraqis across the country,” he said.”These individuals would then have approximately one month to prepare to assume responsibility for governing the country.”The caretaker government – led by a prime minister and a president – would have to reach “crystal clear understandings” on its relationship with the United Nations and any armed forces which remain, Brahimi said.- Nampa-AFP