Home »Top Stories » US troops make partial pullout from Fallujah, 16 hostages freed

  • News Desk
  • Apr 13th, 2004
  • Comments Off on US troops make partial pullout from Fallujah, 16 hostages freed
US troops made a partial pullback on Monday from this Sunni bastion as a goodwill gesture, an Iraqi mediator said, as rebels freed 16 foreign hostages, including seven Chinese, but the fate of three Japanese captives remained uncertain.

"There has been a partial pullback of troops, coalition troops, from the city as a goodwill gesture," said Fuad Rawi, senior member of the Iraqi Party, which is leading mediation efforts.

But Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy coalition director of military operations, said: "I am not aware of any partial pullback." Rawi told AFP: "I cannot give more details about when or where the partial pullback happened, or how many troops it involved."

A Fallujah cease-fire, which began at 10:00 am (0600 GMT) Sunday, was extended until Monday night.

US marines are taking part in a week-long operation, codenamed "Vigilant Resolve," aimed at flushing out insurgents blamed for the brutal murder of four US contractors here March 31 as well as for other anti-coalition attacks.

"There are still negotiations ongoing this evening, but we are very optimistic. The two parties have been respecting the cease-fire, although there have been a few minor breaches, so we remain optimistic," Rawi said.

In Crawford, Texas, US President George W. Bush said the situation in Iraq had improved, while acknowledging again that the past week had been difficult for US-led forces.

"The situation in Iraq has improved. But you're right, it was a tough week because there was lawlessness and gangs that were trying to take the law in their own hands," he told reporters after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Bush announced that he would hold a White House press conference late Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the US military said on Monday it will capture or kill Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who launched an anti-US uprising by his militia and supporters this month.

"The mission of US forces is to kill or capture Moqtada al-Sadr," Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, commander of US ground forces in Iraq, told reporters in the United States in a video link from Baghdad.

US-led authorities in Iraq have said an arrest warrant for Sadr was issued several months ago by an Iraqi judge in connection with the murder of a cleric in the city of Najaf last year.

General John Abizaid, head of US Central Command, told the news conference there was a possibility the uprising could be ended through a "uniquely Iraqi solution".

Meanwhile, two delegations of mediators brokering a truce between US forces and insurgents returned from Fallujah on Monday, a US officer said.

The head of US-led coalition ground forces in Iraq, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, said the Fallujah cease-fire appeared to be holding Monday afternoon, though US troops were still coming under attack.

"It's tenuous," Sanchez told a briefing of reporters in Washington from Baghdad.

"I must add that these are just initial discussions. We are not negotiating at this point until we achieve some confidence building and a period of stability," said Sanchez. "Then we would consider going into significant negotiations to end this battle."

"But at this point we have had continued attacks by the insurgents, up until about eight to 12 hours ago."

The number of foreigners taken captive in Iraq grew after the Czech embassy in Baghdad confirmed two Czech television employees had been abducted north of the capital on Sunday.

But there was some good news with reports from China's official Xinhua news agency that the seven Chinese hostages captured Sunday in Iraq had been released. Xinhua did not give further details.

The Chinese workers had entered Iraq from Jordan early Sunday and were snatched in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, according to the Chinese officials.

Nine other foreigners - Briton Gary Teeley and eight Asian drivers - were released by their captors on Sunday.

But attention was focused on three Japanese hostages, with contradictory reports about their fate and possible imminent execution.

An armed group calling itself the "Mujahedeen Brigades" had threatened to kill the first of the three hostages at 5:00 pm (1300 GMT) Monday unless Japan withdraws its 550 troops from the southern town of Samawa.

In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed that Japanese troops would not bow to the kidnappers' demands.

A self-described Iraqi mediator, Mezher Dulaimi, said that after tough negotiations, the kidnappers had agreed not to execute the Japanese following the Monday deadline.

A Japanese embassy spokesman in Amman said he could not confirm Dulaimi's claim.

Sanchez also said two American soldiers and seven US contractors working for a Halliburton subsidiary were unaccounted for in Iraq.

Sanchez told reporters that the seven contractors worked for Kellogg, Brown and Root, part of the Halliburton energy and services giant.

US military authorities said Friday two soldiers were missing following an attack by Iraqi insurgents on their convoy near Baghdad international airport.

Iraqi police, meanwhile, deployed in the central Shia holy city of Najaf on Monday following what they said was an agreement, involving the US-led coalition, for the withdrawal of armed militiamen loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr from the streets.

But Sanchez said Sadr loyalists remained in Najaf and the other major holy Shia city of Karbala.

He confirmed that US forces have been dipatched "to the vicinity of Najaf to ensure that we are prepared to conduct an offensive operation to eliminate the final elements of Moqtada Sadr's influence down there."

Under the terms of the agreement, coalition troops will not enter the city, which will be under Iraqi security control, said police chief Ali al-Yaseri.

The Spanish defence ministry in Madrid said it could not confirm the deal in Najaf, where a Spanish-led military contingent is based.

Earlier this month, Sadr, who is wanted in connection with the murder last year of a rival, pro-US cleric, launched a rebellion against coalition forces in several cities, including Najaf.

The head of US Central Command, General John Abizaid, for his part said Syria and Iran had both been involved in "unhelpful actions" regarding the situation in Iraq.

"There are indications from intelligence folks that there are some Iranian activities going on that are unhelpful," said Abizaid, speaking from Iraq to reporters at the Pentagon. "And there's also unhelpful actions coming from Syria."

In Fallujah, an AFP correspondent said the cease-fire seemed to be still holding Monday at nightfall, except for a 10-minute clash at around 5:15 pm (1315 GMT).

Rebel leaders had given US marine snipers a 4:00 pm (1200 GMT) ultimatum to leave the besieged Sunni town or face a renewed all-out offensive, a journalist who attended a meeting of insurgents told AFP. Citing hospital sources in the town, Iraqi mediators said the civilian death toll from the week-long US offensive in Fallujah stronghold topped 600 with 1,250 wounded in Fallujah.

But Kimmitt told a news conference in Baghdad that there were no reliable figures on civilian casualties.

He put coalition combat fatalities since April 1 at 70 while those of insurgents at 10 times that number.

Iraqi national security adviser Muaffaq al-Rubaie urged Fallujah residents to hand over those suspected of the brutal murders of four US contractors there last month to pre-empt any renewed US offensive.

US forces, meanwhile, said Monday they had found ammunition and propaganda material for Sadr's militia at Baghdad's Al-Mustansiriya University.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2004


Copyright Reuters, 2004


the author

Top
Close
Close