<DIV>** Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches **<BR><BR><BR> November 19, 2004<BR><BR><BR> As U.S. Forces Raided a Mosque<BR><BR>Dahr Jamail<BR><BR>BAGHDAD, Nov 19 (IPS) - An eyewitness commentary to IPS through a U.S. <BR>raid on a Baghdad mosque Friday gives a vivid picture of what a <BR>'successful raid' can be like.<BR><BR>U.S. soldiers raided the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad during Friday <BR>prayers, killing at least four and wounding up to 20 worshippers.<BR><BR>At 12:30 pm local time, just after Imam Shaikh Muayid al-Adhami <BR>concluded his talk, about 50 U.S. soldiers with 20 Iraqi National <BR>Guardsmen (ING) entered the mosque, a witness reported.<BR><BR>”Everyone was there for Friday prayers, when five Humvees and several <BR>trucks carrying INGs entered,” Abu Talat told IPS on phone from within <BR>the mosque while the raid was in progress. ”Everyone starting yelling <BR>'Allahu Akbar' (God is the greatest) because they were
frightened. Then <BR>the soldiers started shooting the people praying!”<BR><BR>Talat said he was among a crowd of worshippers being held back at <BR>gunpoint by U.S. soldiers. Loud chanting of 'Allahu Akbar' could be <BR>heard in the background during his call. Women and children were <BR>sobbing, he said.<BR><BR>”They have just shot and killed at least four of the people praying,” <BR>he <BR>said in a panicked voice. ”At least 10 other people are wounded now. We <BR>are on our bellies and in a very bad situation.”<BR><BR>Talat gave his account over short phone calls. He said he was <BR>witnessing <BR>a horrific scene.<BR><BR>”We were here praying and now there are 50 here with their guns on us,” <BR>he said. ”They are holding our heads to the ground, and everyone is in <BR>chaos. This is the worst situation possible. They cannot see me talking <BR>to you. They are roughing up a blind man now.” He evidently could talk <BR>no further then.<BR><BR>The soldiers later released women and
children along with men who were <BR>related to them. Abu Talat was released because a boy told him to <BR>pretend to be his father.<BR><BR>Other witnesses gave similar accounts outside the mosque. ”People were <BR>praying and the Americans invaded the mosque,” Abdulla Ra'ad Aziz from <BR>the al-Adhamiya district of Baghdad told IPS. He had been released <BR>along <BR>with his wife and children. ”Why are they killing people for praying?” <BR>He said that after the forces entered ”they went to the back doors and <BR>we heard so many bullets of the guns -- it was a gun bigger than a <BR>Kalashnikov. There were wounded and dead, I saw them myself.”<BR><BR>Some of the people who had been at prayer were ordered by soldiers to <BR>carry the dead and wounded out of the mosque, he said.<BR><BR>”One Iraqi National Guardsmen held his gun on people and yelled, 'I <BR>will <BR>kill you if you don't shut up',” said Rana Aziz, a mother who had been <BR>trapped in the mosque.. ”So they made
everyone lie down, then people <BR>got <BR>quiet, and they took the women and children out.”<BR><BR>She said someone asked the soldiers if they would be made hostages. A <BR>soldier used foul language and asked everyone to shut up, she said. <BR>Suddenly, she laughed amid her tears. ”The Americans have learnt how to <BR>say shut up in Arabic, 'Inchev'.”<BR><BR>Soldiers denied Iraqi Red Crescent ambulances and medical teams access <BR>to the mosque. As doctors negotiated with U.S. soldiers outside, more <BR>gunfire was heard from inside.<BR><BR>About 30 men were led out with hoods over their heads and their hands <BR>tied behind them. Soldiers loaded them into a military vehicle and took <BR>them away around 3.15 pm.<BR><BR>A doctor with the Iraqi Red Crescent confirmed four dead and nine <BR>wounded worshippers. Pieces of brain were splattered on one of the <BR>walls <BR>inside the mosque while large blood stains covered carpets at several <BR>places.<BR><BR>A U.S. military
spokesperson in Baghdad did not respond to requests for <BR>information on the raid.<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>You are subscribed to the Dahr Jamail's email Iraq Dispatches because <BR>you requested a subscription at some point.<BR><BR>You can visit <A target=_blank href="http://dahrjamailiraq.com/email_list/"><FONT color=#003399>http://dahrjamailiraq.com/email_list/</FONT></A> to subscribe or <BR>unsubscribe to the email list.<BR><BR>Or, you can unsubscribe by sending an email to <BR><A href="http://uk.f250.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=iraq_dispatches-request@dahrjamailiraq.com&YY=84098&order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b"><FONT color=#003399>iraq_dispatches-request@dahrjamailiraq.com</FONT></A> and write unsubscribe in the <BR>subject or the body of the email.<BR><BR>Iraq_Dispatches mailing list<BR><A
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