Iraq fighters lie in wait among tombs for US army

Iraq fighters lie in wait among tombs for US army
Sun 9 May, 2004 13:19
By Suleiman al-Khalidi

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - In Iraq's holy city of the dead, America's enemies come out at night.

Abdul Zahra Hadi, one of thousands of Shi'ite militiamen confronting U.S. forces around Najaf, takes pride in his nocturnal hideout in one of the world's biggest cemeteries; thousands of tombs give him cover to fire rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. convoys moving in and out of the nearby base.

"We ambush their patrols and the Americans cannot get into the area because it's full of winding lanes and underground mausoleums," he said, crouching in the darkness.

"So we can hit and run and hide inside the many tombs."

(more)

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=507318§ion=news

Don't we "rule the night"?

Tunnels that is......

Fascinating account of life in the Tunnels, and the extensive and effective planning that went into them. Read it many many years ago.

Blood transfusions done with bike tire tubes...

Very creative, and efficient under the circumstances.

They used herbs and acupuncture too, I think. (thanks for confirming, I had deleted because I wasn't sure of my facts)

of the tunnel complexes. I vaguely remember one of the photographs in the book, showing a 'theatre' and a performer on stage (the name rang a bell at the time, but it has been many years since I read the book, and as usual, I loaned it to a friend and never got it back.