Aid convoys came under fire on the way to Fallujah

Additional Reporting By Aws Al-Sharqy & Samir Haddad, IOL Correspondents

BAGHDAD, April 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The U.S. soldiers opened fire on aid convoys taking relief supplies to Fallujah, sealed off by occupation forces for the fourth consecutive day, eyewitnesses said.

The convoys, carrying foodstuffs and medicine, were forced to stop in Ramadi to the west of Baghdad, eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net.

Troops in armored vehicles attempted to stop the convoy of cars and pedestrians from reaching the western town where U.S. marines have met ferocious resistance in a two-day-old offensive.

But the U.S. contingents were overwhelmed as residents of villages west of the capital came to the convoy's assistance, hurling insults and stones at the beleaguered troops, Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Two U.S. Humvees attempted to stop the marchers but were forced to drive off as residents joined the marchers.

 U.S. troops armed with machine guns and backed up by armor again blocked the highway further west, but were forced to let the Iraqis past as they came under a hail of stones.

The cross-community demonstration of support for Fallujah had been organized by Baghdad Sunni and Shiite scholars amid reports that the death toll in the town had reached 105 since Tuesday evening.

“No Sunnis, no Shiites, yes for Islamic unity,” the marchers chanted. “We are Sunni and Shiite brothers and will never sell our country”.

Sunni mosques in Baghdad called for donations of blood and humanitarian aid to the Fallujah inhabitants, drawing response form thousands of people – all sharing fury over continued U.S. military occupation of the country.

The incident came one day after International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged U.S. troops to allow unfettered access to the city's hospital.

“Access to (Fallujah's) general hospital must be open and the wounded and the sick must be helped to reach it,” ICRC spokeswoman Nada Dumani was quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) as saying.

The only hospital in the city was shelled Monday, April 5, by U.S. helicopters. Doctors said the situation is extremely serious as some of the injured have bled to death.

Iraqi casualties were “mostly women and children”, as the makeshift hospital could not receive any more victims, medical sources in the town said.

“We are treating the wounded and then asking them to leave,” one doctor said.

F16s Continue To Shell Fallujah

A U.S. soldier pulls an injured comrade away from a burning tank in Falluja , Iraq

F16 helicopters shelled the densely-populated areas of the town on Wednesday, leaving 45 inhabitants dead and 65 others injured for one day.

Corpses littered the streets of Fallujah on Thursday, as the U.S. marines met ferocious resistance in the town which their commander compared to the Vietnam war.

Flies buzzed on the lips of the corpse of a 40-year-old Iraqi with a mustache and receding black hairline. Marines shot him in the neck when he allegedly fired a rocket-propelled grenade at them across the industrial wasteland of garages, factories and metal shops.

Turbulence continued in other areas in the conflictive country, as U.S. forces kept their raids.

The ghastly raids on Fallujah came as at least 40 Iraqis were killed and dozens others injured in a separate U.S. military attacks on Ramadi, 110km west of Baghdad.

Eight Iraqis were killed and 12 others injured Wednesday by the U.S. forces during a demonstration west of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk to protest the siege on Fallujah.

Continued Fighting

Iraqi fighters stand in defense of Fallujah

In the meantime, the U.S. F16s are reported to keep shelling Fallujah, leaving several casualties.

Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr's militia also vowed to resume combat against occupation troops.

“We had given orders for calm because we are peaceful people, and there were negotiations to calm the situation,” said Amer al-Husseini, a spokesman for Sadr in Baghdad's Shiite city of Sadr City.

“But after they bombarded our headquarters and prayer room with Apache helicopters and tanks, we are ready to resume combat until the last drop of our blood,” he told reporters.

The U.S. forces admitted one Marine was killed in fighting in Fallujah on Thursday, bringing the death toll of Marine casualties from this week's clashes in the town to four. There were no immediate details on how the soldier was killed.

A total of 10 Marines are known to have been wounded since they launched a siege of Fallujah early Monday. The Marines have not given a full casualty count.

Sadr's militia said Thursday it was holding Spanish prisoners and possibly an American, but Spanish officials quickly denied any of their troops had been seized.

There was no immediate U.S. reaction to the claim by Sadr's militia, who said they planned to swap the hostages for one of their Najaf-based leaders, Mustafa al-Yaacubi, detained by U.S, forces Saturday 4.

The militia threatened to up the ante with an ultimatum Thursday to occupation forces to quit the holy city of Karbala where a major religious celebration was scheduled this weekend.

Attack

A U.S. convoy of two vehicles was seen in flames about 20km west of Baghdad on Thursday morning. The U.S military has not confirmed the incident, which came hours after U.S. troops fought intense street battles in the capital.

Militiamen loyal to Sadr are said to be taking control of the city of Karbala. They also patrol the holy cities of Kut and Najaf.

U.S. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld said his troops would stay away from the holy Shiite city of Najaf.

He said U.S.-led forces had decided to stay away from Najaf because of an upcoming Muslim pilgrimage to the city and because of Sadr's militia forces.

Shiite scholars have warned the U.S. troops of acting “irrationally” after up to 52 Iraqi protesters were killed on Sunday, April 4, in the worst confrontations between Iraq’s Shiite majority and the U.S.-led occupation troops sine the start of the invasion one year ago.

The protesters were denouncing the crushing of two fellowmen by a U.S. tank on Saturday, April 3, the arrest of Sadr’s top assistant Sheikh Al-Yaqoubi and a ban on Al-Hawza newspaper, Sadr’s mouthpiece.