August 8, 2004

Battle Blog 1 - 7 August 2004

By Douglas Hanson
The big story in Iraq this past week is the resurgence of extremist Shiite cleric Muqtada al—Sadr's militia in Najaf.  Reports stated that during the initial fighting that broke out on August 5, a U.S. helicopter was shot down, however, the crew was successfully evacuated.  Also, one US soldier was killed and five others wounded in an ambush on a convoy outside the city.  Later, U.S. close air support aircraft bombed the cemetery where Sadr's men were hiding.  This is the same cemetery where a few months ago, the US 1st Armored Division fought a decisive battle resulting in the deaths of thousands of Shia militia members.  On August 6, when US forces engaged Sadr's men, the militants suffered about 300 killed in action, and an undetermined number of wounded.  Almost immediately, Sadr proclaimed a desire to return to the 'relative calm' of the truce that had been in effect since last June. The UK also had problems with Shia extremists in Basra in...(Read Full Article)