IRAQ: U.S. SOLDIERS SEARCH THE TOWN OF FALLUJA, 60 KM FROM BAGHDAD, LOOKING FOR WEAPONS AND ARRESTING SUSPECTED BAATH PARTY MEMBERS

Record ID: 647578

  • Title: IRAQ: U.S. SOLDIERS SEARCH THE TOWN OF FALLUJA, 60 KM FROM BAGHDAD, LOOKING FOR WEAPONS AND ARRESTING SUSPECTED BAATH PARTY MEMBERS
  • Date: 6th June 2003
  • Summary: (W6) FALLUJA, IRAQ (JUNE 6,2003) (REUTERS -- ACCESS ALL) 1. REAR VIEW OF CONVOY OF U.S. MILITARY HUMVEES 0.06 2. VARIOUS: OF U.S. SOLDIERS PATROLLING STREETS (2 SHOTS) 0.16 3. GATHERING OF RESIDENTS WATCHING 0.21 4. LV: U.S. SOLDIERS DETAIN AND ARRESTED SOME IRAQI RESIDENTS 0.41 5. MLV: U.S. SOLDIER WITH A MACHINE GUN ON A MILITARY CAR 0.45 6. CLOSE-UP OF MACHINE GUN 0.50 7. LV: U.S. SOLDIERS WALK TOWARDS CAMERA 0.56 8. LV: U.S. MILITARY HUMVEE PULLS UP IN FRONT OF TROOPS DETAINING IRAQIS 1.01 9. WS: OF SAME SCENE 1.06 10. WS: OF WATCHING RESIDENTS AT GATES OF A HOUSE 1.10 11. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (ARABIC) RESIDENT, HASSON MEHSEEN SAYING: "It is a provoking action, they are accusing the residents of being members in Baath party, they are bothering the residents here. They achieved nothing. They have come to destroy the country, not to build it." 1.23 12. LV: IRAQIS LINE THE PAVEMENT OBSERVING CONVOY OF U.S. MILITARY HUMVEES 1.33 13. LV: CHILDREN WATCH FROM BEHIND A WOODEN DOOR AND BREEZE BLOCK WALL 1.37 14. LV: U.S. SOLDIERS ARRESTING ONE OF THE RESIDENTS AS OTHER TROOPS STAND AROUND 1.44 15. LAS/LV: A MILITARY HELICOPTER FLIES OVERHEAD 1.47 16. LV: U.S. TANKS MOVE OUT OF THE AREA 1.55 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 21st June 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: FALLUJA, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVADR712QPCOTNEIEJ2RPS0TGVBH
  • Story Text: American soldiers have continued searching the restive
    town of Falluja, 60 km west of Baghdad, looking for weapons
    and arresting suspected members of the Baath Party.



    On Friday (June 6), U.S. forces backed by tanks and
    helicopters raided the home of Mahmoud Allawi, a member of the
    former ruling Baath party, and arrested four people, witnesses
    said. It was not clear whether Allawi was among the four.

    U.S. forces have continued searching for weapons and
    Baath party members as attacks continue in the volatile
    region.

    One U.S. soldier was killed and five were wounded on
    Thursday (June 5) in Falluja.

    It is unclear who carried out the attacks and no one has
    claimed responsibility. The U.S military blames Saddam Hussein
    loyalists and is searching the city.

    The city of 400,000 people, is strongly influenced by
    Islamist thought. Mosques fill the city and women almost never
    go out in the streets.

    Falluja's residents make a living from agriculture,
    transporting oil, contracting and smuggling.

    But residents say those attacking U.S. forces may have
    nothing to do with Saddam Hussein. Some say followers of the
    Wahhabi movement, the Sunni Muslim sect also in control of
    Saudi Arabia, have resurfaced and are carrying out the
    attacks.

    Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, blamed for the
    September 11 attacks on the United States, is a follower of
    Wahhabism. Some Falluja residents say they admire bin Laden.

    Some residents are complaining that the U.S. clampdown is
    disrupting the town.

    "It is a provoking action, they are accusing the
    residents of being members in Baath party, they are bothering
    the residents here. They achieved nothing. They have come to
    destroy the country, not to build it," said Hasson Mehseen, a
    Falluja resident.

    The Falluja attack took place as the United States sent
    more than 3,000 extra soldiers and dozens of tanks to crack
    down on gunmen in the Sunni Muslim city west of Baghdad,
    roughly doubling the number of troops deployed in the area.

    Eight weeks after deposing Saddam, U.S. and British forces
    have struggled to impose their grip on the capital and other
    parts of Iraq. They have found no weapons of mass destruction,
    the main reason cited for going to war.





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