Iraq Insurgents Drive Italians From Base

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr drove Italian forces from a base in the southern city of Nasiriyah on Sunday and attacked coalition headquarters there with grenade and mortar fire as tensions in the Shiite region escalated. Two U.S. soldiers died elsewhere.

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The Italian troops evacuated as their base came under repeated attack. Portuguese police were called out to support the Italians, seeing action for the first time since the force of 128 deployed to Nasiriyah in November, a Portuguese duty officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.


At least 10 Italians were wounded, one of the critically, contingent spokesman Lt. Col. Giuseppe Perrone told The Associated Press by phone. He said the Italians relocated to the nearby Tallil air base.


Elsewhere in Nasiriyah, a convoy transporting the Italian official in charge of the city, Barbara Contini, came under attack as it neared the headquarters of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, Perrone said. Two Italian paramilitary police were wounded.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=2&u=/ap/20040516/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

Those Saddam supporters and dead enders must be getting really desperate. If they get any more desperate, they might overrun a US base.

:eyes:

Oops. The wrong folks are on the run.

Don

and supported by nearby portuguese troops, is there somethign wrong with this picture.

discussed a few days back. If the Iraqis had more powerful weapons and body armor the US soldiers would be being killed and wounded at much higher rates. Maybe even the 10s of thousands.

I stick to my Constitutional Amendment: Any war, personel from all branches of government, 30% from each branch, Executive, Judicial, and Legislative, most be combat soldiers. Let's see if they might find other solutions when they have to go die for lies.