[centraal] Irak na de oorlog, deel 8

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Op zondag 10 augustus 2003 15:34 schreef schatje het volgende:
Gevechten in Basra gaan door:
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volledig artikel

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Op zondag 10 augustus 2003 15:40 schreef schatje het volgende:

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Hoe zullen we het dan noemen??

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The American-led administration in Iraq has received intelligence reports that hundreds of Islamic militants who fled Iraq during the war have returned and are planning to conduct major terrorist attacks.

L. Paul Bremer III, the top civilian administrator in Iraq, said in an interview on Friday night that fighters from Ansar al-Islam, a militant organization that the United States tried to destroy during the war, had escaped to Iran and then slipped back across the border into Iraq. He said hundreds of the militants were now in Iraq, where they were preparing to attack the occupation forces or administration.

"The intelligence suggests that Ansar al-Islam is planning large-scale terrorist attacks here," Mr. Bremer said. "So as long as we have, as I think we do, substantial numbers of Ansar terrorists around here I think we have to be pretty alert to the fact that we may see more of this."

The Bush administration has asserted that Ansar has ties to Al Qaeda. Officials of the occupying authority, including Mr. Bremer, said it was possible that Al Qaeda was in Iraq, but they said there was no conclusive proof of that.

Mr. Bremer spoke a day after a car bomb attack ripped through the Jordanian Embassy in central Baghdad, killing 17 people and wounding scores more. It was the deadliest attack against civilians since the American military took control of Baghdad, and it represented a new type of security problem for the American-led occupation. The perpetrators of the attack are still unknown and investigators from the F.B.I. have been sent to investigate the blast.

"We have seen here a new technique for Iraq that we have never seen before," Mr. Bremer said, referring to the car bomb used in the attack.

Mr. Bremer, who served as the chief counterterrorism official at the State Department during the Reagan administration, said his first thought was that the attack had been carried out by a foreign militant organization and not former members of Saddam Hussein's government. That initial assessment was based on the fact that car bombings were a standard technique of such organizations in the Middle East but have been virtually unknown in Iraq during the American-led occupation.

But Mr. Bremer said intelligence experts had since told him that some elements of Mr. Hussein's security apparatus were capable of making car bombs.

"My initial instinct was to believe that this had to be done from somebody from outside," he said. "But I have been told we captured and spoke to some ex-regime people and that there was part of the Mukhabarat that specialized in sophisticated bombing and it is possible that this kind of technique did exist."

The Mukhabarat was the Iraqi intelligence service.

Mr. Bremer said it was also possible that Ansar al-Islam or another militant organization had provided technical expertise on making car bombs to former Baathists who then carried out the attack.

He said the motivations of the attackers were unclear. The Jordanian Embassy, he said, might have been attacked because of Jordan's cooperation with the United States during and after the war to topple Mr. Hussein's government. He said it was unlikely that opponents of the government carried out the attack to punish Jordan for having granted asylum to Mr. Hussein's daughters.

The central question for the American-led administration here, however, is whether the car bombing is an isolated act or the beginning of a new series of bombings. Officials are worried that they may be facing a new wave of attacks by Ansar al-Islam even if the group had no role in the attack on the embassy.

The onset of major bombings of this type would present a new danger to American and allied forces, who so far have been attacked primarily by insurgents and foreign fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades, explosive devices and small arms.

The prospect of such attacks is a worry for another reason. The Bush administration has calculated that attacks by Baathist operatives will substantially decrease if Mr. Hussein is captured or killed and former officials of his government are deprived of a rallying cry. But there is no reason to think that attacks will necessarily cease because they seem to be motivated by a desire to lash out at the Americans over their support for Israel and their presence in the Middle East.

Ansar al-Islam had set up camp near the eastern Kurdish territory in northern Iraq, and the United States had mounted air attacks on the group during the war.

Kurdish forces who supported the American campaign to overthrow Mr. Hussein moved into the group's former stronghold, but many of the group's fighters fled to Iran and then infiltrated back into Iraq, according to American intelligence.

Mr. Bremer said the group had a history of carrying out major terrorist attacks, including car bombings. "The history is they do big stuff," he said. "They don't do chicken-feed-type stuff."

He said more precise information about the group and its makeup would probably not be available until American and allied troops captured or killed many of its members.

Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that some suspected members of the group have been captured and are being interrogated. But Mr. Bremer seemed to suggest that there was still considerable uncertainty about the identity and nationality of many of the group's operatives.

In addition to terrorist threats, Mr. Bremer has been concerned about the role of foreign fighters, who have been conducting ambushes and guerrilla attacks against American forces.

He said the new Governing Council in Iraq had asked the administration here to contact nations like Syria to find out how many of their citizens had come to Iraq to fight against the allies and the Council. But he said officials here had not obtained any precise information on such a count.

The Third Armored Cavalry Regiment recently apprehended about 40 suspected fighters near the Syrian border, officials said. They are being interrogated to determine how many are foreign fighters from nations like Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Mr. Bremer said the basic strategy to fend off terrorist attacks was to press for new intelligence and mount raids to pre-empt them. "In the broadest sense, of course, though it is hard on us here, I would rather be fighting them here than fighting them in New York," he said.

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Op zondag 10 augustus 2003 17:11 schreef BAZZA het volgende:
L. Paul Bremer III, the top civilian administrator in Iraq, said in an interview on Friday night that fighters from Ansar al-Islam, a militant organization that the United States tried to destroy during the war, had escaped to Iran and then slipped back across the border into Iraq. He said hundreds of the militants were now in Iraq, where they were preparing to attack the occupation forces or administration.

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The perpetrators of the attack are still unknown and investigators from the F.B.I. have been sent to investigate the blast.

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Repost

Okies als ik van dit nieuwsbericht uit mag gaan krijgen we al snel weer een dictatuur in Irak.
Hoofdlijn: Bush geeft VS bedrijven (die iets met de Iraakse olie te maken hebben) volledige immuniteit tegenover de wetten van Irak.

Now, a potentially explosive executive order has just
been discovered by SEEN, the Sustainable Energy
and Economy Network. Signed on May 22, it
appears to give U.S. oil companies in Iraq blanket
immunity from lawsuits and criminal prosecution.

Here's what happened: On May 22, the U.N. Security
Council passed Resolution 1438, which provided gas
and oil companies in Iraq with limited immunity until
Dec. 21, 2007. Their reason? To protect the flow of oil
revenues into the development fund that will be used
to reconstruct Iraq. The U.N. resolution, however, did
not provide immunity from human rights violations or
environmental damage. Nor did it protect any
employee or any company after the oil was produced
and extracted in Iraq.

Notice what President Bush changed when, on the
same day, he issued Executive Order 13303 -- called
"Protecting the Development Fund and Certain Other
Property in Which Iraq Has an Interest." Unlike the
U.N. resolution, the president's order appears to
place U.S. corporations above the law for any
activities related to Iraq oil, either in that country or in
the United States.

It also declared a national emergency as the
justification for sweeping aside all federal statues,
including the Alien Tort Claims Act, and appears to
provide immunity against contractual disputes,
discrimination suits, violations of labor practices,
international treaties, environmental disasters and
human rights violations. Even more, it doesn't limit
immunity to the production of oil, but also protects
individuals, companies and corporations involved in
selling and marketing the oil as well.

Unlike the U.N. resolution, therefore, the order
provides immunity for more of the industry's activities,
as well as for a broader swath of individuals,
companies and corporations.

These are the kind of legal protections that most
corporations could only dream of enjoying. If, for
example, a U.S. oil company engages in criminal
behavior in California, and its assets can be traced
back to Iraqi oil, it could be immune from any kind of
prosecution.

Tellingly, the president's order provides no such legal
immunity for companies who are helping to
reconstruct Iraqi communications, computer or
electrical infrastructure.

"In terms of legal liability," said Tom Devine, legal
director of the Government Accountability Project, a
Washington nonprofit group that defends whistle
blowers, "the executive order cancels the concept of
corporate accountability and abandons the rule of
law. It is a blank check for corporate anarchy,
potentially robbing Iraqis of both their rights and their
resources."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/08/08/ED163218.DTL

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Op zondag 10 augustus 2003 18:27 schreef Vodka het volgende:

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Word tijd dat de VS Iran een bezoekje brengt, ze zijn nu toch in de buurt.
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Ben benieuwd wat voorn wapens dat dan waren, want als de FBI moet komen weten zelfs de wapenexperts van het leger het niet, want die lopen ook wel in Irak rond.

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De gasten in deze kwestie zullen uit moeten gaan zoeken naar dna materiaal enzo en hoe de terroristen te werk zijn gegaan zodat ze dit dan weer kunnen vergelijken met de bekende netwerken om te zien met wie ze mogenlijk te maken hebben.

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Op zondag 10 augustus 2003 19:56 schreef schatje het volgende:
Over terroristen gesproken:
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bron

Zouden de Amerikanen al een bezoekje hebben gebracht aan dat vermeende trainingskamp??
Ik heb er namelijk nog niets over gehoord.

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BRING THEM HOME NOW! is a coordinating committee of military families, veterans, active duty personnel, reservists and others opposed to the ongoing war in Iraq and galvanized to action by George W. Bush's inane and reckless challenge to armed Iraqis resisting occupation to "Bring 'em on."

Our mission is to mobilize military families, veterans, and GIs themselves to demand: an end to the occupation of Iraq and other misguided military adventures; and an immediate return of all US troops to their home duty stations.

The truth is coming out. The American public was deceived by the Bush administration about the motivation for and intent of the invasion of Iraq. It is equally apparent that the administration is stubbornly and incompetently adhering to a destructive course. Many Americans do not want our troops there. Many military families do not want our troops there. Many troops themselves do not want to be there. The overwhelming majority of Iraqis do not want US troops there.

Our troops are embroiled in a regional quagmire largely of our own government's making. These military actions are not perceived as liberations, but as occupations, and our troops are now subject to daily attacks. Meanwhile, without a clear mission, they are living in conditions of relentless austerity and hardship. At home, their families are forced to endure extended separations and ongoing uncertainty.

As military veterans and families, we understand that hardship is sometimes part of the job. But there has to be an honest and compelling reason to impose these hardships and risks on our troops, our families, and our communities. The reasons given for the occupation of Iraq does not rise to this standard.

Without just cause for war, we say bring the troops home now!

Not one more troop killed in action. Not one more troop wounded in action. Not one more troop psychologically damaged by the act of terrifying, humiliating, injuring or killing innocent people. Not one more troop spending one more day inhaling depleted uranium. Not one more troop separated from spouse and children. This is the only way to truly support these troops, and the families who are just as much part of the military as they are.

Bush says "Bring 'em on." We say "BRING THEM HOME NOW!"

Bron; http://www.bringthemhomenow.org

[Dit bericht is gewijzigd door MasterPeace op 11-08-2003 21:32]

Dutch marines in the south of Iraq have come under gunfire in the first clash with Iraqi renegades since the peacekeeping troops were deployed in the war-torn Islamic country.

Looters of a cement factory fired gunshots at the reconnaissance troops on Friday and Saturday nights in the city of As Samawah, the capital of the Al Muthanna province. In Saturday's incident, eight Dutch marines returned fire and engaged the looters in an intense, five-minute gunbattle.

No one was injured in the clashes, but Saturday's battle is being described as the most serious incident involving foreign troops in As Samawah since the end of official hostilities on 1 May. The cement factory is a popular looting site due to the large amount of copper piping in the building.

About 1,100 Dutch troops will be stationed in the southern Iraqi province to maintain security in the thinly-populated, desert region. They are part of the US-British stabilisation force (SFIR) and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will fly to the US next month to engage in Iraqi security talks with President George Bush.

A military advisor had warned the Parliament that the troops should remain vigilant against renegade Iraqis regrouping in the area after carrying out attacks against western soldiers. The parliament backed the Cabinet's decision to deploy the troops in June.

And in the first show of hostilities, several marines were shot at when they entered the factory on Friday night, while two groups of soldiers who went in search of the looters also drew gunfire. The marines fired in total 16 bullets in return.

Local guards alerted Dutch marines to the presence of looters again on Saturday night. Marines demanded the Iraqis vacate the building, but were fired upon by looters wielding AK-47 machine guns. The eight marines were fired upon from two sides, newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

Major Cees Schellens said it was possible that the marines wounded some of the looters in returning fire and that troops heavily returned fire from Land Rovers and two heavy military vehicles. About 500 bullets were fired in the five-minute gunbattle.

But the plunderers suspected of being a group of three men escaped and for most of the marines involved, the two incidents were the first time they had been shot at during a military mission.

Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had reduced the length of the peacekeeping mission from six months to four months. It said the hot temperatures in Iraq 45 to 50 degrees Celsius made it irresponsible to remain to keep troops in the region longer than four months.

But Commandant Dick Swijgman said the heat had nothing to do with the reduced mission time, confirming that he had previously urged the ministry to reduce the mission's timeframe.

[Copyright Expatica News 2003]

"Zoodra ik "mariniers!" roep, moet gij dien kreet luid herhalen, met den klewang over het hoofd zwaaien en als dollen op de Iraki's instormen."

Generaal Van Heutsz

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Amerikanen schieten op Iraakse politie

BAGDAD/BERLIJN -ANP Amerikaanse militairen hebben in de Iraakse hoofdstad Bagdad per ongeluk drie Iraakse politieagenten onder vuur genomen. Twee van hen overleefden de schietpartij niet.

Volgens de enige overlevende van het incident achtervolgden hij en zijn collega's al schietend een verdacht voertuig toen de Amerikanen hen op de korrel namen. Overlevende Hamza Atiya Muhsen vertelde maandag dat een van zijn collega's werd doodgeschoten toen hij met de armen in de lucht en zijn penning in zijn hand uit de auto stapte. Het voertuig was niet herkenbaar als politiewagen. Muhsen zegt zelf tijdens het incident zaterdag te zijn geschopt en geslagen.

Een hulpcommissaris van de politie in Bagdad bevestigde dat twee van zijn mensen zijn doodgeschoten door de Amerikanen. Hij zei te geloven dat de militairen de politieagenten voor mogelijke belagers hebben aangezien. Volgens hem is een delegatie van de Amerikaanse marechausse inmiddels bij hem langs geweest om condoleances aan te bieden.

Een woordvoerder van het Amerikaanse leger zei op de hoogte te zijn van het incident maar weigerde meer informatie te verstrekken. De Arabische nieuwszender al-Jazeera stelde dat de Amerikanen vermoedden dat het trio met een explosief een aanslag op Amerikaanse militairen wilde plegen.

De strijdkrachten bevestigden maandag dat zondagavond een patrouillerende Amerikaanse militair in Irak door een bomaanslag om het leven is gekomen. Het zelfgemaakte explosief ontplofte in Baquba, ruim zestig kilometer ten noordoosten van Bagdad. De soldaat is het 57e slachtoffer van het Iraakse verzet sinds 1 mei. Twee andere militairen raakten gewond.

Een woordvoerder van de coalitietroepen meldde maandag dat zondagavond laat op zeventig meter van de Britse ambassade in Bagdad twee granaten ontploften. Een Irakees raakte gewond. Volgens de zegsman was de ambassade zelf niet het doelwit van de aanslag. De granaten ontploften onder vrachtwagens die vlakbij geparkeerd stonden. Met deze wagens waren goederen bij de ambassade afgeleverd.

Een Duitse regeringswoordvoerder sloot maandag uit dat de Bondsrepubliek in de nabije toekomst troepen naar Irak stuurt om de Amerikanen daar te ondersteunen. Volgens de zegsman heeft Washington Duitsland ook niet gevraagd militairen te leveren. Met zijn verklaring wilde de woordvoerder mogelijke misverstanden over uitlatingen van minister Struck van Defensie uit de weg ruimen.

Zondag had de bewindsman in een vraaggesprek laten doorschemeren dat Duitse troepen eventueel zouden kunnen meedoen aan een NAVO-missie in Irak, mits daaraan een mandaat van de Verenigde Naties ten grondslag ligt. Berlijn was een van de grootste tegenstanders van gewapend ingrijpen in Irak.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/030811/170/4y42c.html&e=7

Uit de telegraaf van vandaag:

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Menselijke schilden' in Irak moeten boete betalen

MIAMI - De Amerikanen die afgelopen voorjaar naar Irak vertrokken om daar als 'menselijk schild' tegen de dreigende aanval op het land te protesteren, moeten nu een boete betalen van 10.000 dollar. Zij zouden de Amerikaanse sancties tegen het land hebben geschonden. Dit meldt de krant Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Het blad citeert een van de mensen die de boete moeten betalen. De 62-jarige Faith Fippinger zegt dat zij in een brief de keuze kreeg voorgelegd om bij wijze van 'schikking' 10.000 dollar te betalen, of voor de rechter te verschijnen. Zij zou dan veroordeeld kunnen worden tot 12 jaar gevangenisstraf of een boete van een miljoen dollar.

De Amerikaanse sancties tegen Irak verboden aan Amerikanen om banden te onderhouden met het regime van Saddam Hoessein en naar Irak te reizen. Maar Fippinger zegt dat zij naar Irak is gegaan uit "zorg voor het leven op aarde" en dat zij daarbij uitsluitend haar recht uitoefende om zich vrij te verplaatsen. Zij zegt niet van plan te zijn de boete te betalen.

Volgens de Sarasota Herald-Tribune zijn er nog ongeveer 20 andere Amerikanen die als 'menselijk schild' naar Irak zijn gegaan, en nu de boete opgelegd hebben gekregen.

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Op dinsdag 12 augustus 2003 09:22 schreef Maerycke het volgende:
Ook leuk:

Uit de telegraaf van vandaag:
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Vrijheid van handelen en meningsuiting is er tegenwoordig niet meer bij geloof ik....

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Ook als je haast hebt mag je nog steeds niet te hard rijden.

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Nederlandse mariniers om hitte eerder afgelost in Irak
Door een onzer redacteuren

ROTTERDAM, 11 AUG. De Nederlandse mariniers in Irak worden eerder afgelost dan voorzien. Dat heeft het ministerie van Defensie besloten. Volgens het department is de beslissing ingegeven door de hoge temperaturen in het gebied, die kunnen oplopen tot boven de vijftig graden celcius.

Nederland neemt sinds twee weken geleden met ongeveer 1.100 militairen deel aan de stabilisatiemacht SFIR in Irak. Nederland is verantwoordelijk voor de zuidelijke provincie Al-Muthanna, aan de grens met Saoedi-Arabië.

De mariniers, ondersteund door eenheden van de landmacht en de luchtmacht, zijn sinds begin augustus volledig operationeel en voeren patrouilles uit in het gebied. Daarbij is gebleken dat de omstandigheden als gevolg van de hitte zwaarder zijn dan verwacht, aldus een woordvoerder van het departement. ,,Je maakt van tevoren een inschatting. Maar pas op het moment dat je het echt gaat doen, weet je waar je over praat.'' Defensie wijst er op dat ook andere landen die troepen leveren in Zuid-Irak, zoals Denemarken, Italië en het Verenigd Koninkrijk, inmiddels hebben besloten de uitzendtermijn terug te brengen tot vier maanden.

J. Debie, voorzitter van de militaire vakbond VBM/NOV, verbaast zich echter over de beslissing van Defensie. ,,Tijdens de hoorzittingen in de Kamer gingen al stemmen op om de militairen niet zes, maar drie maanden uit te zenden. Dat werd toen niet nodig geacht. Dan vind ik het gek dat men nu ineens op andere gedachten komt.''

Door de vervroegde 'rotatie' zijn meer troepen nodig, maar de aflossing heeft ook voordelen voor Defensie. Militairen die zes maanden worden uitgezonden hebben recht op twee weken verlof. Dat recht komt nu te vervallen, waardoor de Nederlandse eenheid gedurende de missie volledig op sterkte blijft.

Vrijdag deed het eerste gewapende incident zich voor in het Nederlandse gebied, waar het in vergelijking met de rest van Irak tot nu toe rustig is geweest. Nederlandse verkenners werden beschoten toen ze in een cementfabriek bij de provinciehoofdstad As Samawah inbrekers betrapten. De plunderaars openden het vuur met automatische geweren. De Nederlanders schoten terug. Er vielen geen gewonden.

Bron: NRC - handelsblad van 120803

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Nederlandse Chinook-helikopter ingezet in Irak voor gewond meisje
11-08-2003

De Koninklijke Luchtmacht heeft zondagavond (10 augustus) in Irak een gewond Irakees meisje vervoerd. Het 12-jarige meisje had ernstige 2e en 3e graads brandwonden en is met een Chinook helikopter overgebracht naar het Amerikaanse veldhospitaal. Dit hospitaal, gelegen op de voormalige Iraakse vliegbasis Tallil, heeft intensive care faciliteiten. Het meisje is inmiddels geopereerd.

Het is de eerste keer dat de hulp van de Chinook werd ingeroepen in Irak. De helikopters van 1 (NL) Helidet maken deel uit van de Stabilisation Force Iraq (SFIR). Dit detachement van zo´n 100 luchtmachtmilitairen en 3 Chinooks van de vliegbasis Soesterberg, wordt geleid door Luitenant-kolonel Rob Gouders. De taak van het luchtmachtdetachement is het ondersteunen van 1 NLDET Irak met tactisch luchttransport waaronder ook medische evacuatievluchten (MedEvacs). De Chinooks zijn sinds 6 augustus operationeel in Irak.

Het 1 (NL) Helidet is gestationeerd op een voormalig Irakese vliegbasis nabij Tallil. Op deze basis zijn ook Amerikanen en Italianen gedetacheerd. Tallil ligt op de noord-oostelijke rand van de provincie Al Muthanna waar de hoofdmacht van de Nederlanders verblijft (foto: Rob Gieling/CAVDKM).
http://www.mindef.nl:30280/nieuws/persberichten/content/110803_chinook.html

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Lt. Col. Steve Russell said the Iraqis were caught during a three-hour raid on 20 houses south of the city, Saddam's ancestral home. Officials described the detainees as members of a family closely associated with the deposed Iraqi leader.

About 200 U.S. soldiers participated in the operation, Russell said.

The captives were not identified by name. The general was not among the top 55 suspects on the deck of playing cards distributed to U.S. troops, but had been sought for some time, Russell said.

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that U.S. forces have conducted 32 raids against enemy targets over the last 24 hours.

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Op woensdag 13 augustus 2003 02:44 schreef schatje het volgende:
Konvooi VS in Irak in hinderlaag:
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bron

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