Rebels down US chopper as Baghdad shield is raised
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-27 22:35

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Two US soldiers were killed when insurgents shot down their helicopter, the military said, as the Iraqi government sealed off Baghdad in a bid to quell mounting attacks on the capital.

Meanwhile, speculation continued over the fate of Al-Qaeda's ringleader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, reported to have been badly wounded and the focus of a spate of conflicting Internet claims.

The dead US soldiers were flying in one of two helicopters attacked by insurgent gunfire which crashed as they were carrying out a support mission for coalition troops near the rebel stronghold of Baquba late Thursday.

The second chopper managed to land at a US air base after sustaining damage, it said, with US forces securing the area around the crash site.

With car bombs exploding almost daily in the capital, the government has started a vast operation to seal off Baghdad using tens of thousands of Iraqi police and soldiers and setting up hundreds of extra checkpoints.

"We're going to set up a security cordon around Baghdad ... and it will be impossible for terrorists to cross," said Defence Minister Saadun al-Dulaimi, adding that the plan would soon be extended to the provinces.

"The objective is to pass from a defensive position to an offensive one and to put the capacities of defence and interior ministry forces to the best use."

In the northwest, around 1,000 US and Iraqi troops continued their operation in the Euphrates Valley town of Haditha in a bid to rout insurgents loyal to Zarqawi who fled an earlier operation near the Syrian border.

Zarqawi was reported wounded last week with a bullet wound between his shoulder and his chest, according to unverifiable statements on Internet websites, though confusion remained over whether a deputy had already been appointed in his place.

Ten suspected militants, including a Muslim cleric, have been killed in the sweep so far, the US military said, with one marine killed on Thursday.

"We were able to achieve what we believe is total surprise, and we continue to do our series of coordinated searches for insurgents and for caches of munitions and weapons," said Colonel Stephen Davis, in charge of the American end of the operation.

The operation in Haditha, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the Syrian border, comes after a week-long sweep earlier this month around Al-Qaim, next to the frontier, in which at least 100 insurgents and nine US troops were killed.

Both operations are on the main road from Damascus to Baghdad, which US and Iraqi authorities believe is the main thoroughfare for insurgents they say are entering from Syria, charges strenuously denied by Damascus.

Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said last week that Baghdad would hold talks with Damascus soon to demand action against insurgents infiltrating the border, but on Thursday added that a number of problems need to be resolved before such a meeting could take place.

With Damascus and Baghdad continuing to seek an amicable solution to the alleged infiltration, the US military was reportedly pressing for a buffer zone to be set up along the border in order to stem the flow of militants.

The 10-kilometre wide (six mile) security zone is just one of several options put forward by the US military to "deal with Syria's" alleged involvement in Iraq, the Al-Hayat daily said, quoting "informed, diplomatic sources".

The operations in Al-Qaim and Haditha are intended to clear the area of insurgents so it can establish the security zone, the sources said from London.

The US military in Baghdad was unable to immediately confirm the report.

With US troops the target of daily attacks while on patrol, soldiers also faced action from within their own bases as 300 Filipinos employed their went on strike to protest poor working conditions, Manila said Friday.

The workers, under contract from Prime Projects International and Kellog Brown and Root, are based in Camp Cooke in the province of Taji, the foreign ministry said.

It was not specified what their complaints were, but the ministry said the Filipinos and the agencies that employed them failed to agree on certain demands prompting the strike.

Despite a travel ban to Iraq, the Philippines is the biggest supplier of manpower for US-led coalition forces, with an estimated 6,000 Filipinos working in various camps.

Close

Today's Top News     Top World News
Proposed bill to encourage Chinese in US schools         China: Foot-and-mouth disease under control         Battles won on drugs, but war rages on         China wants Games torch on Mt.Qomolangma         Shanghai targeting at property bubbles         China firm as US steps up yuan pressure	Germany ratifies EU constitution, hopes to boost French 'yes' lobby       International donors have pledged US$300 million for peacekeeping troops       Proposed bill to encourage Chinese in US schools       Suspected suicide blast in Pakistan kills 18       North Korea denies nuclear testing reports       40,000 Iraqis to form shield in Baghdad