Man Remanded over Torso Death By Ju-Lin Tan, PA News A man appeared in court today charged with the murder of a Somalian woman whose torso was found in a suitcase dumped in a canal. Daniel Archer, 53, of Willow View, Poole, Dorset, is accused of murdering 27-year-old Nasra Ismail at a property in Conistone Way, Highbury, north London, on or before April 10. He was remanded in custody by Enfield Magistrates – sitting at Tottenham Magistrates Court in north London – to appear before the Old Bailey on April 26th. No application for bail was made. Ms Ismail’s dismembered remains were found in a suitcase floating in Regent’s Canal in Islington, North London, last Saturday. end

Canal body woman named The body was found in a suitcase floating in the canal By Local London Reporter Police have released the identity of a woman whose torso was found in a north London canal. The torso of Nasra Ismail was found in a suitcase floating in the canal in Islington, at the junction of Danbury St and Graham St, about 3pm on Saturday. Police said she was 27 years old and lived in the Islington area. A 53-year-old man was arrested in Dorset yesterday morning, and taken to an east London police station for questioning, where he remains. Police divers yesterday recovered a bundle from the canal, containing a woman's head and limbs. Detectives have searched three addresses in north London in connection with the torso discovery. Post mortem tests on the remains found it belonged to a black woman of slim build who had been dead for at least two days. Cause of death could not be confirmed. Scotland Yard said specialist detectives had reviewed the case and were satisfied there was no "ritual element" to the murder. Police are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen a suitcase being thrown in Regents Canal last week, or who knows of a missing black woman fitting the description. Information can be passed to the Incident Room at Barking on 020 8345 3985, or to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 12:20pm Thursday 15th April 2004

News "Breaking news""A young Somalian woman has been named as the murder victim whose torso was stuffed into a suitcase and thrown into a canal in north London Source:BBC News Nasra Ismail, 27, is thought to have spent two months at the Dennis Handfield House hostel in King's Cross but went missing a month ago. Other body parts were found by divers on Wednesday, four days after the suitcase was found in Regents Canal. Police are questioning a 53-year-old man from Dorset as part of the inquiry. A post-mortem examination could not established the exact cause of Miss Ismail's death, but she is thought to have been dead at least two days before she was found. The 39 residents at the Dennis Handfield hostel, who include people referred by health agencies and rough sleepers, were said to be "very distraught" at the news. Police searched three homes in Highbury and Holloway on Tuesday and believe they have found the spot where the body was dismembered. The teenagers who found the suitcase in the canal in Islington and their families have been offered police support. An inquest has been opened and adjourned at St Pancras Coroners Court.

Rebel leader warns US: I am ready to face martyrdom By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad 17 April 2004 Muqtada Sadr, the Shia cleric whom the US army is trying to arrest, warned yesterday that negotiations to end the stand-off in Najaf were near collapse. Sadr, wearing a white shroud to show he is willing to face death, appeared in the mosque of the nearby town of Kufa showing that the US encirclement of Najaf is less than complete. He said: "I am ready to face martyrdom." His spokesman, Sheikh Fuad al-Tarafi, said: "I believe that the mediation will not continue for long. There are no results from these negotiations and [they] could collapse." The US has been demanding that Sadr be arrested and his Army of the Mehdi disbanded, something he says he will not do. At the same time Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shia cleric, warned in a sermon yesterday that he regards US troops entering the holy cities of Najaf or Kerbala as a "red line" which must not be crossed. Quite what Ayatollah Sistani would do if the 2,500 US troops outside Najaf launched an attack is not clear but there is no doubt that Iraq's Shia would resist if asked. Meanwhile, US military and civilian officials yesterday met with leaders from Fallujah, the first known direct negotiations between Americans and city representatives since the siege began 12 days ago. Richard Jones, the civilian head of the US delegation said the United States agreed to move its soldiers so residents of Fallujah would have direct access to the city's main hospital and both sides agreed to continue dialogue. Until now, US-allied Iraqi leaders have been involved in talks to find an end to the violence. The Americans are expected to push the Fallujah leaders to have insurgents abide by the ceasefire. US officials, however, were not certain what influence the leaders have with the gunmen. But fighting continued. A US F-16 warplane dropped a 2,000-pound (900kg) bomb in northern Fallujah yesterday, destroying a building where gunmen had been seen, marines said. F-16s later returned for more strikes on buildings believed to be housing rebels. Meanwhile, Lebanon's top Shia Muslim cleric yesterday warned that attempts by US forces to attack holy Shia cities in Iraq or kill Sadr would increase violence against Americans across the Islamic world. Grand Ayatollah Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah also called on US forces to end their siege of Fallujah, saying it contradicted America's promise to establish democracy in Iraq after Saddam Hussein. "We reject talk about killing or capturing Muqtada Sadr," Ayatollah Fadlallah told thousands of worshippers in his weekly sermon at a Beirut mosque. "We want the wounded Iraqi people, who are facing killings and destruction, to solidify their stance in order to establish a new free Iraq administered by their will and not by the will of the occupation." The holiest Shia site - the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf - is only metres away from the office where Sadr, a fiery anti-American cleric, is holed up, surrounded by gunmen. The remarks by Ayatollah Fadlallah and Ayatollah Sistani's representative came as diplomatic efforts were intensified to end a standoff between US troops and Sadr in the holy city. Some 2,500 US troops are ringing Najaf as they prepare for a final showdown with Sadr's militia, the Mehdi Army. US commanders have vowed to "kill or capture" him after his militia launched a bloody uprising last week taking control of a number of cities. US forces were also surrounding Fallujah, after fierce fighting left hundreds of Iraqis and 88 US soldiers dead, the deadliest month so far for the Americans. Fallujah is a stronghold of anti-American militants in overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim central Iraq. Ayatollah Fadlallah, 69, strongly opposed Saddam Hussein's regime and the US-led war against Iraq. A harsh critic of US policies in the region, he is respected among Shia in the Arab world and is the top religious authority for Lebanon's 1.2 million Shia. His rank of grand ayatollah is the highest a Shia cleric can attain. One optimistic sign was a call from the mosques for police and paramilitary Iraqi Civil Defence Corps to return to duty. A Canadian and three Czech hostages were released yesterday but a Danish businessman was reported kidnapped in Basra.

Mr Ceel Buur, many thanks its good news indeed. The Somali's in the UK have shown signs that they are going to follow their brethren over the Atlantic and unifying their fragmented community in order to develop their capabilities. All somali's wherever they maybe must work together and overcome their differences and develop and engender confidnece in our youths. Peace

'Stop shedding our blood to preserve your blood. It is in your hands' Edited text from the tape from Osama bin Laden broadcast by al-Jazeera "This is a message to our neighbours north of the Mediterranean. Peace upon those who followed the right path. The greatest rule of safety is justice, and stopping injustice and aggression. The situation in occupied Palestine is an example. What happened on 11 September [2001] and 11 March [the Madrid train bombings] is your commodity that was returned to you. The act that horrified the world; that is, the killing of the old, handicapped [Hamas spiritual leader] Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, may God have mercy on him, is sufficient evidence. We pledge to God that we will punish America for him. Which religion considers your killed ones innocent and our killed ones worthless? Reciprocal treatment is fair and the one who starts injustice bears greater blame. As for your politicians and those who have followed their path, who insist on ignoring the real problem of occupying Palestine and exaggerate lies and falsification regarding our right in defence and resistance, they do not respect themselves. The Zionist lobby is one of the most dangerous and most difficult figures. I ask honest people, ulema [senior Islamic figures], preachers and merchants, to form a permanent committee to enlighten European peoples of the justice of our causes, above all, Palestine. The door of reconciliation is open for three months of the date of announcing this. I also offer ... our commitment to stopping operations against every country that commits itself to not attacking Muslims or interfering in their affairs. The reconciliation will start with the departure of its last soldier from our country. For those who reject reconciliation and want war, we are ready. Peace be upon those who follow guidance.

Iraqi clerics say coalition 'must pay' for crisis U.S. general wants 10,000 more troops Tuesday, April 13, 2004 Posted: 1346 GMT (2146 HKT) The town of Macon, Mississippi, holds a vigil for hostage Thomas Hamill. BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- As Iraq's most powerful Shiite clerics warned the U.S.-led coalition that it "must pay" for the current crisis in the country, the head of U.S. Central Command asked the Pentagon for roughly 10,000 more soldiers. In a statement issued Monday after a meeting with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the clerics and members of the country's religious authority also cautioned the coalition against doing battle in the holy city of Najaf, and warned against any attempt to kill al-Sadr. "The current crisis in Iraq has risen to a level that is beyond any political groups, including the Governing Council, and it is now an issue that is between the religious authority and the coalition forces," the statement said. "Those who have brought on this crisis must pay for what they have done." Participating in the meeting was Mullah Mohammed Redha Ali Al-Sistani, the son of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani; Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Ishaq al-Fayadh, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Sayid al-Hakim, Grand Ayatollah Bashir Hussein al-Najafi, Mohammed Sayid Redha al-Sistani and Sayid Ali al-Sibzwari. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the recognized leader of the country's majority Shiite Muslims, is known to keep al-Sadr at arm's length. But the concerns voiced by the clerics Monday reflected a desire to avoid the kind of conflict in Najaf that was recently seen in Fallujah, where several U.S. troops and many more Iraqis died in recent fighting. Al-Sadr is currently holed up in a mosque in Najaf, where his militia, the Mehdi Army, patrolled the streets Monday after negotiating to allow local police back into three of their stations. An al-Sadr deputy said the militia would allow the police to return only if U.S. forces left the area. The battle with al-Sadr's forces began earlier this month, after the coalition shut down his newspaper, Al Hawza, for allegedly inciting violence and then arrested an aide on charges of complicity in the slaying last year of another Shiite cleric. An Iraqi judge has also issued a warrant for al-Sadr's arrest in connection with the killing. A top aide of al-Sadr, Sheikh Hazem al-Araji, was detained and questioned by U.S. forces and then released Tuesday, according to a U.S. Army officer. "After questioning, we determined that he is not part of the violence and appears to have been a force for promoting discussion," 1st Armored Division commander Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey said. Al-Araji was on a list of al-Sadr associates wanted for questioning by the U.S. military. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said Monday the U.S. forces' mission is "to kill or capture Muqtada al-Sadr," the phrase coalition military leaders use to refer to their missions against other so-called "high level targets." Najaf, Kufa and neighboring Karbala are the only cities remaining under the Mehdi Army's control since U.S. forces put down al-Sadr-inspired rebellions in other cities over the weekend. U.S. helicopter crash reported A U.S. helicopter was seen by an Associated Press reporter burning on the ground outside Fallujah on Tuesday, and witnesses said it was hit by a rocket from the ground. There was no immediate word on casualties. The helicopter was in flames on the ground 12 miles east of Fallujah near the village of Zawbaa, according to the AP. An insurgent uprising stretching from Najaf in south-central Iraq to Tikrit, north of Baghdad, is making this month the deadliest one since the war in Iraq began in March 2003. With April not yet half over, at least 75 U.S. troops have been killed in hostile action; 26 of them died in fighting over the weekend. For the insurgents, the toll is higher, according to the U.S. military. Meanwhile, Gen. John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command, said Monday he has asked the Pentagon for the equivalent of at least two combat brigades, roughly 10,000 troops, to handle the insurgents in Iraq. "What I've asked for is essentially to have a strong mobile combat arms capability," Abizaid said at a news conference in Baghdad. "That's probably about two brigades worth of combat power, if not more." Pentagon sources said that for three months that need will be filled by elements of the 1st Armored Division that had been scheduled to return home. Counting the missing Continuing the apparent insurgent trend in Iraq to kidnap and hold foreign hostages, the Arab-language television news channel Al-Jazeera on Tuesday aired video of what it said were four Italians who had been kidnapped. The video showed armed men surrounding four men, who were seated and appeared to be holding their passports. In another kidnapping, eight employees of a Russian electric power consortium in Iraq were released Tuesday, according to the company's executive director, Alexander Rybinsky. Five of the workers were Ukrainian nationals. The other three were Russian. They were all said to be in good condition. Rybinsky said a group of masked armed men stormed into a company building in Baghdad on Monday, overpowering armed guards, taking nine employees hostage and then driving them away. One employee was later released. (Full story) On Monday, seven Chinese men also were freed by their captors. A group of masked men delivered the Chinese kidnap victims Monday to a group of Muslim clerics at a mosque in Baghdad. Two Arab men working for aid agencies are also being held by militants, one a Syrian-born Canadian and the other a resident of Jerusalem. (Iraq hostage crisis intensifies) There still was no word Tuesday about the fate of three kidnapped Japanese civilians who militants had vowed Saturday to burn alive if Japan did not pull its forces out of Iraq by Sunday. The deadline has also passed for U.S. troops to withdraw from Fallujah, as militants holding U.S. truck driver Thomas Hamill demanded, threatening to kill him if their demand is not met. Hamill -- a contractor for Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root -- was taken captive after an ambush on a fuel convoy Friday near Baghdad International Airport. Six other civilian KBR contractors -- some of them Americans -- are unaccounted for after being ambushed over the weekend, according to the Pentagon. Two U.S. troops are also missing, the U.S. military said. Also, three Czech Television journalists had not been heard from, a spokesman for the station said. Other developments Iraqi civilians continue to stream out of Fallujah. U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said that the situation in the town of 200,000 was calmer than it had been, but remained tense. After he spoke, firefights broke out Monday night after five Marines were wounded. Marines moved on Fallujah after four U.S. civilian security contract workers were killed and mutilated March 31. President Bush, speaking at a news conference at his ranch near Crawford, Texas, with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said the United States must defend ordinary Iraqis against "gangs that were trying to take the law into their own hands." Bush will hold a news conference Tuesday evening at the White House to discuss the situation in Iraq.

US helicopter downed, rescue team attacked Tuesday 13 April 2004, 17:16 Makka Time, 14:16 GMT The MH-53 helicopter was downed by gunfire A US MH-53 helicopter has crashed southeast of Falluja and marines who rushed to secure the crash site came under attack and sustained casualties. A Marine officer said it was not known how many people were aboard the helicopter, which can carry up to 55 people. He said the aircraft which crashed on Tuesday did not belong to the Marine Corps, but to another US government agency. Witnesses told Aljazeera that it was hit by ground fire during heavy fighting in the area. The officer said marines sent to the crash site, some 20km southeast of Falluja, came under attack and sustained unspecified casualties. As the marines were taking the casualties to a trauma centre, they were ambushed by fighters firing mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and suffered more casualties, the officer said, without giving further details. The crash came just two days after an Apache helicopter was downed by fighters in the same area with the loss of two crewmen.

Developments in Iraq The Associated Press 4/13/04 9:05 AM Major developments Tuesday in Iraq: -- A 2,500-strong U.S. force pushed to the outskirts of the Shiite holy city of Najaf for a showdown with radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. -- A U.S. military H-53 Sikorski helicopter crashed outside Fallujah, but there was no indication anyone in the crew was killed or injured, a Marine commander said. U.S. troops blew up the downed craft to keep it from being looted, Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne said. Insurgents said they shot it down with a rocket-propelled grenade. -- Four Italians working as private guards for DTS Security, a U.S. company, were reported missing in Iraq, the ANSA news agency reported. An Arab satellite TV network said the four were kidnapped by insurgents near Fallujah and showed video of them in a room surrounded by gunmen wearing Arab headscarves. -- Eight Ukrainian and Russian employees of a Russian energy company who were kidnaped in Baghdad were freed, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. -- Two U.S. soldiers and seven employees of a U.S. contractor, including truck driver Thomas Hamill, were still missing after an attack Friday on a convoy west of Baghdad.

Italians kidnapped in Iraq Tuesday 13 April 2004, 16:28 Makka Time, 13:28 GMT The four Italians are the latest hostages Related: Eight Iraq hostages freed Fate of Japanese hostages uncertain Russians taken hostage in Baghdad Eight foreign hostages freed Four Italian security guards have been kidnapped by a group calling itself al-Mujahidiin Brigades, Aljazeera television said. The satellite channel aired a videotape on Tuesday showing the four Italians, with their passports, surrounded by armed men. The group said on the video it would hold the Italians until their demands are met, including withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq, the release of mosque Imams and an apology from Rome. After the airing of the tape, Italy's Foreign Ministry said four Italians working for a security company had been missing since Monday. The ministry said it had been contacted by the men's employer, a private American security company called DTS. Italy's confirmation "DTS security informed the Farnesina (Italy's foreign ministry) that four of its Italian employees have been missing since yesterday," a spokesman said. "The news was communicated to the ministry by the American company yesterday evening," he said. The Italians are the latest foreigners to be kidnapped in Iraq. Earlier, five Ukrainians and three Russians were released after being kidnapped on Monday. Their captors reportedly released them after discovering they were Russians, according to Moscow media. Russia strongly opposed the US-led war against Iraq last year. In other developments: Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso on Tuesday advised Portuguese civilians in Iraq to leave the country because of the growing number of foreigners being kidnapped there. France is strongly advising its citizens to leave Iraq and warning people not to travel there Kremlin officials advised the several hundred Russian workers in Iraq to leave, while one contractor - Russia's biggest in Iraq - said it was pulling out.

US helicopter downed near Falluja Tuesday 13 April 2004, 16:13 Makka Time, 13:13 GMT Iraqi fighters vowed to resume clashes if US onslaught resumed Shaky ceasefire underway in Falluja Doctor reveals Falluja's horror toll US attack belies Bremer's Falluja 'truce' Plea to lift siege as toll mounts Negotiations between US occupation authorities and the resistance in Falluja to maintain the shaky truce continued on Tuesday even as Iraq saw fighting in which a US helicopter was downed and a soldier killed. The helicopter crashed near Falluja. Witnesses told Aljazeera that it was hit by ground fire during heavy fighting in the area. US forces sealed off the area and prevented anyone from approaching the site. Another US helicopter arrived at the site to evacuate the crew of the downed helicopter. The US military official said it had no immediate information on the aircraft, or on the fate of the two crew. A US soldier was killed in a resistance attack on a convoy travelling to the southern city of Najaf in preparation to "kill or capture" Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Several other soldiers were injured. Meanwhile, in Falluja a temporary ceasefire announced on Sunday was renewed late on Monday, said Iraqi negotiators. A delegation representing the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) and the Iraqi Islamic party was sent to Falluja for a third round of negotiations on Monday. The AMS is the highest Sunni authority in Iraq. The main sticking point is who will take responsibility of security after US forces withdraw, reported Aljazeera's correspondent in Falluja Abd Al-Adhim Muhammad. Despite a truce, jittery US troops fired on Falluja residents Residents are calling for Iraqi police and civil defence units from the city to replace the troops. On its part, US forces want to secure promises that they will not be attacked during the withdrawal. The occupation besieged Falluja, 65km west of Baghdad, nine days ago in an effort to crush the resistance in the city of 300,000. Troops had completely sealed the city, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. Civilian toll mounts Since then, the toll among Iraqis in Falluja has topped 600 and another 1200 have been injured, according to medical sources. On the ground, minor skirmishes have broken out since the ceasefire, but the situation has been relatively calm, reported Aljazeera. Iraqi fighters in the Golan neighbourhood, the scene of fierce battles last week, continued to patrol the streets. They have vowed to resume fighting if occupation troops break the ceasefire. Medical sources at Falluja's only functioning hospital said the main injuries being treated were wounds obtained from US snipers, reported our correspondent. He spoke to civilians at the hospital who said they were fleeing the city when they came under attack. There were several casualties, including a child, the distraught father told him. Elsewhere, mortar rounds slammed into central Baghdad's busy district on Tuesday, killing an Iraqi motorist, witnesses said. One bomb landed in a busy street, killing a driver and gouging a crater in the road. Another sent smoke rising from the so-called Green Zone which houses the occupation headquarters. There were no reports of casualties. A third round hit a parking lot by the Tigris.

Riyaale is a joke all those who support his phantom government is worse. Bothers on this webiste have been brainwashed to the extent they are unable to differentiate from truth and fantasy. Riyaale was part of the regime that oppressed our people in the north yet the same people reward him by making him their leader. The irony is that Morgan's old Villa is his presedential palace. His little "elected group" have achieved nothing and the lie or recognition is fed to the happless population in order to keep them forever quite. Traditional leaders are ignored and even put in jail for speaking out. This government and their phantom unrecognised state is as bad as those ***** warlords in the south, just a bunch of failed Somali's. peace

RECRUIT THE CHICKENHAWKS Chickenhawk n. A person enthusiastic about war, provided someone else fights it; particularly when that enthusiasm is undimmed by personal experience with war; most emphatically when that lack of experience came in spite of ample opportunity in that person’s youth. There isn’t enough irony in the world to explain away the Republican Party’s simultaneous disdain for Bill “Draft Dodger” Clinton and their fawning adoration of George “A.W.O.L” Bush. Nor can it be explained that our current war in Iraq was sold to us by a whole host of men who—for one reason or another—found it in themselves to avoid the various wars of the past half century. These are our courageous Chickenhawks—guts enough to send the country to war without ever having to set foot in a combat zone themselves. This is bad enough as it is, but is even worse when the war they want people to give their lives for is a fabrication—one fought for fictitious reasons. As the war in Iraq has dragged on, as American troops have died, as the country has begun to realize the true intentions of the Chickenhawks, only one conclusion can be made: We’d all be much safer if THEY were actually on the front lines standing behind THEIR words. To send young Americans into the line of fire our dear Chickenhawks must really, really, really believe in the cause, so it would make sense that they must be raring to parachute into Iraq themselves. With such amazingly strong dedication and conviction, I’m certain the Army will accept with open arms their offers to serve—and serve immediately. To enlist as an Active-Duty Soldier in the U.S. Army you must be: Between the ages of 17 and 34 A U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident Alien Healthy and in good physical condition In good moral standing Now, some might argue that because almost all the Chickenhawks are only one of those things (see Bullet Point #2) they are automatically exempt. But since they’re so damn fired up about this war, and since they’ve fought so damn hard for this war they’ve got to be tired of sitting on the bench. There must be no doubt—the Chickenhawks are ready to get in game! Which is perfect since many, many, many of the soldiers they gleefully shipped off to Iraq want out. These men and women have been lied to about the reasons for war, they’ve been lied to about how long they’d be there. They don’t have the right equipment, they’re tired and they’re scared—and who can blame them? We need reinforcements bad—and the Chickenhawks are our fierce and secret Freedom Fighting Force. The Army is sure to make an exception for them! Can you even imagine? From across the desert sands there’s a rumble and out of the dust emerges a daunting sight: Rush “Anal Cyst” Limbaugh, Bill “No-Spin” O’Reilly, Don “Foot-in-Mouth” Rumsfeld, Dick “Dick” Cheney, and George “Flight Suit” Bush! This is certain to drive Osama and all the other Evil Doers from their hiding places, dragging behind them all of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. Victory is close. Let’s get this Mission Accomplished. Send in the Chickenhawks! How can you help? A little friendly encouragement, of course! Going to war could still be a somewhat daunting prospect for some of these brave men—so let them know you believe in them and that you believe they have what it takes to sort the Iraq mess out. You don’t start something and not finish it, and by God, they started this one. Step #1: Go to the Army recruiting site and locate your nearest recruiting office. When you get the chance, swing by the office and pick up some pamphlets. Step #2: Get an envelope and some stamps. Step #3: Choose a Chickenhawk. You can find a full list of them here, courtesy of the New Hampshire Gazette. Step #4: Write a short personalized letter wishing the your Chickenhawk well in Iraq. Tell him you know he will quickly lead America to victory, find Osama, find weapons, establish democracy, teach all Muslims to love America, and—oh yes—get Iraq’s oil flowing again (right into America). Step #5: Slap an address on that envelope and slip it into the mail! Here are addresses for several of America’s newest fighting force: George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 (or email your encouragement: president@whitehouse.gov) Dick Cheney The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 (vice.president@whitehouse.gov) Karl Rove The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Donald H. Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense 1000 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1000 Paul Wolfowitz Deputy Secretary of Defense 1010 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1010 Bill Bennett Empower America 1801 K Street NW Suite 410K Washington, DC 20006-5805 empower1@empower.org Newt Gingrich The Gingrich Group 1301 K Street NW Suite 800 West Washington, DC 20005 E-Mail Form Sean Hannity Fox News Channel 1211 Avenue Of The Americas New York, NY Hannity@foxnews.com Rush Limbaugh The Rush Limbaugh Show 1270 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 rush@eibnet.com Bill O’Reilly Fox News Channel 1211 Avenue Of The Americas New York, NY Oreilly@foxnews.com Joe Scarborough MSNBC TV One MSNBC Plaza Secaucus, N.J. 07094 joe@Msnbc.com Special note: Chickenhawk Alan Keyes is excused from duty because a few years ago he jumped in a mosh pit—and the American people dig that kind of thing.

10,000 deaths in of the poor in Iraq http://www.iraqbodycount.net/ US deaths in Iraq 636 and counting http://www.michaelmoore.com/ http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/ http://lunaville.org/warcasualties/Summary.aspx

Battle rages in Sunni Iraqi city Falluja has been a centre of anti-US resistance Fighting between US forces and Sunni Iraqi militants in the city of Falluja has killed at least 36 Iraqis. Helicopter gunships have been bombarding targets in the city which is ringed by heavily armed marines tasked with "pacifying" the flashpoint. Reports say that Falluja mosques are broadcasting a call for "Holy War" and armed women are among the militants. US forces took action after four Americans were killed and their bodies dragged through the streets last week. FALLUJA Population: 284,500 (2004 estimate, World Gazetteer) Predominantly Sunni Muslim with an estimated 70 mosques Benefited from heavy investment in factories under Saddam Hospital sources in Falluja said many more Iraqis were wounded in overnight fighting as marines moved into an industrial zone on the outskirts. A correspondent for Qatari broadcaster al-Jazeera TV reported from inside the town on Wednesday that food supplies were running low and smoke was pouring from burning houses in the area of the marines' advance. Reporting "fierce battles" in the east and north-west, he added that gunmen were fighting back with rockets. Fighting has also erupted in other "Sunni Triangle" towns, with 12 US marines killed at Ramadi on Tuesday, while an unprecedented revolt by Shia Muslim militants continues to rage elsewhere in Iraq. Call to war The Associated Press news agency quotes witnesses in Falluja as saying that the mosques have been calling for a "jihad" as gunmen and marines fight running battles in the east of the town and in the centre. Armed women were in the streets and some gunmen could be seen carrying mortars. Abd-al-Wahab al-Qaysi, described as a local "notable", told al-Jazeera that local people were determined to resist. "We have to hold out, fight and struggle," he said, speaking at a cemetery where victims of the fighting were being buried. "This is our land. We did not attack America. It is America that attacked us. It travelled thousands of kilometres across the oceans to attack us." The marine assault on Falluja comes after four US civilian contractors were ambushed there and their bodies mutilated and strung from a bridge by a mob on 31 March. US commanders vowed to track down the killers and troops now in Falluja are carrying photographs of "a good many" suspects, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday. "It will be a methodical effort to find the individuals who were involved," he added.

Map shows latest flash points in Iraq..

US vows to wipe out cleric's army Sadr's Mehdi Army is thought to have about 10,000 members The US military in Iraq has vowed to "destroy" the militia which backs a radical Shia cleric responsible for much of the latest wave of violence. US-led forces are already conducting operations against Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army, said a US military spokesman. More than 100 Iraqis have died in three days of clashes in areas to the west and south of the capital, Baghdad. About 20 coalition troops have also been killed, including 12 US marines in a single attack in the town of Ramadi. Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army was created in the summer of 2003 and is thought to have no more than 10,000 members. Other developments: Ukrainian troops pull out of the southern town of Kut after clashes with Mehdi Army militants. At least 36 Iraqis are said to have been killed in the past 24 hours in the flashpoint town of Falluja. Four Iraqis are reported to have been killed by US air strikes in Baghdad's Sadr City neighbourhood - up to 60 estimated to have been killed since Monday. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there are no plans to send additional troops to Iraq. Precise attacks "In the central and southern regions of Iraq, the coalition and Iraqi security forces are conducting operations to destroy the Mehdi Army," US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt told a news conference in Baghdad. MEHDI ARMY Named after Mehdi - the "promised one" in Islam Created in summer of 2003 - the first Shia militia to organise on the ground Fewer than 10,000 members Ideology: defend Muslim faith An arrest warrant has been issued for the cleric on charges unrelated to the current violence. Map of recent uprisings Mr Sadr is currently surrounded by his gunmen who appear to control the holy city of Najaf. They also control the towns of Kufa and Kut. US troops have kept out of those cities, but are trying to hunt down the militiamen in the mainly Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City in Baghdad. "If he [Mr Sadr] wants to calm the situation... he can turn himself in to a local Iraqi police station and he can face justice," Gen Kimmitt said. War footing The action by the Shias was triggered by the closure of Mr Sadr's al-Hawza newspaper a week ago on the grounds that it was inciting violence. The Shia-led violence has opened a second front for US-led coalition troops who had previously been confronting mainly Sunni supporters of the former Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. MAJOR US COMBAT LOSSES 6 April 2004: 12 marines killed and 20 injured at Ramadi 2 November 2003: helicopter shot down near Amiriya with 15 soldiers killed 23 March 2003: 29 soldiers killed at Nasiriya On Monday the US launched a big operation to "pacify" the town of Falluja - in the Sunni triangle that has been the centre of opposition to the occupation. The operation follows last week's horrific killing of four US contractors whose bodies were dragged through the streets. US President George W Bush has insisted the US resolve in Iraq remains "unshakable", despite the clashes. The White House is now back on a war footing, the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington reports, and Secretary of State Colin Powell has urged the nation to rally behind its troops.

Falluja engulfed in fighting Wednesday 07 April 2004, 13:25 Makka Time, 10:25 GMT Mansur: Street battles are being fought in Falluja Fierce street battles are raging in Falluja between resistance fighters defending the town and US occupation forces, who are launching missile attacks in and around residential areas. At least 52 Iraqis have died in attacks since Tuesday in the besieged town which American forces completely sealed off on Sunday, according to hospital sources reported Aljazeera's correspondent Ahmad Mansur. More than 100 others, including children, have been injured. Twenty-six of those killed were from one family. Speaking live from a rooftop in the tense town, Mansur said the hospital is struggling to cope with the rising casualties. "They are attacking residential neighbourhoods," he said as US warplanes swooped over the area and fired rockets. Intense gunfire could be heard from the streets. "The residents of Falluja are asking where is the (US-appointed) Iraqi Governing Council," said an obviously shaken Mansur. "They are asking why the Iraqis are not protecting them." "Residents of Falluja call on the Arab world to intervene and lift the siege on this town of 300,000. They ask where are the Arab leaders in this time," he said before throwing himself to the ground as a plane flew overhead. Falluja has come under fierce US attack in the last three days as occupation forces sealed off the town, a hotbed of anti-occupation activity, in an effort to crush the resistance. US marines tried for a third time to take control of the town but were forced to retreat. The Aljazeera crew, including cameramen Layf Muftaq and Hasan Walid, sound engineer Sayf al-Din and correspondent Hamid Hadid, are the only media personnel inside the town. Since the closure was imposed on Sunday, 91 Iraqis have been killed and dozens more injured. US forces besieged the town after last week's ambush in which four American security guards were killed and their bodies mutilated and dragged through the streets by Iraqi mobs.

'I am ready to shed my blood' Cleric surrounded by armed guards as Iraqis warm to uncompromising stance Rory McCarthy in Najaf Wednesday April 7, 2004 The Guardian America's newest enemy in Iraq spent yesterday sitting in a back room of his cramped office on the corner of Najaf's Street of the Prophet, promising in apocalyptic tones an unparalleled fight against the American occupation. Moqtada al-Sadr chose his refuge carefully. Here, the radical young cleric, whose supporters have staged violent demonstrations across southern Iraq for the past three days, is in the shadow of the holiest shrine in the Shia Islamic faith. Earlier in the day he had moved out of his mosque in the nearby town of Kufa, gambling that the revered, golden dome of the Imam Ali shrine will protect him from America's threat of arrest. To get to him, the Americans will have to fight their way through dozens of his armed men standing guard outside the office, dressed in black and bearing Kalashnikov assault rifles, spare ammunition clips and hand-grenades. They danced in circles when they were handed Mr Sadr's latest statement. "I am ready to shed my blood for my holy city, my clerics and my society," wrote Mr Sadr, 30. He described the American president as the "evil Bush", and demanded he hand power immediately to the Iraqis. "If our dearest society is attacked we should not remain silent," he wrote. "Now the Iraqi society has become one body with all the sects against the power of evil and darkness. You should pray for victory against the enemies and let it be the first step to liberate Iraq." His threats present the US military with an unpalatable choice: either commanders attempt to execute the arrest warrant issued for Mr Sadr and so risk a bloody battle in the heart of one of Iraq's most sensitive cities, or they let him be and leave his movement stronger than ever. Yesterday his aides, a movement of young, populist clerics schooled here in Najaf, were in ebullient mood. "The American forces are very embarrassed," said Sheikh Qais al-Qazali, the white-turbaned chief of his Baghdad branch, as he walked through the back streets of the ancient city, bodyguard in tow. "They didn't expect that Syed Moqtada had such a large base of support. And they didn't expect that the Iraqi society, with all its different sects, would be so supportive of Syed Moqtada," he said. "This is an uprising, an intifada. It is a popular reaction and now we have to let society do what it decides to do." Throughout the day, he insisted, Mr Sadr had received a queue of visitors offering support, among them tribal figures and representatives of the more respected clergy of Iraq's Shia faith, including, he claimed, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. A mediator also came with a message from the Americans, he said, asking Mr Sadr to present a lawyer to negotiate the charges against him, in which he is suspected of involvement in the murder a year ago of a moderate cleric, Abdul Majid al-Khoei, who was killed inside the Imam Ali shrine itself. The cleric rejected the apparent overture. His armed militia, the Jaish al-Mehdi, or the Army of the Hidden Imam, yesterday controlled the area around the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf as well as Mr Sadr's own mosque in the town of Kufa, nearby. Local policemen have fled their posts and their stations are still occupied by the militia. Further north in the Shia suburbs of Baghdad it is a similar situation. In al-Show'la, where American helicopter gunships fought with armed protesters on Monday, Mr Sadr's supporters had largely enforced a strike. Officials in Mr Sadr's localoffice said hospital doctors had been warned they would be punished if they did not treat injured militiamen. All schools were closed and even educated teachers spoke of their support for the outspoken cleric. "Moqtada represents and expresses the opinions of all the Iraqi society," said Hassan Jasim, 35, the headmaster and Arabic teacher at the largest school in the neighbourhood, the Two Rivers boys' secondary school. "We welcomed the Americans and their slogans of democracy but what we see after one year is just another form of dictatorship." His particular grievance was that the thousands of dollars spent by contractors of the Americans refurbishing his school had resulted in shoddy work. He showed cheap ceiling fans, doors without handles, and badly flaking paint. "It's just corruption and the Americans wouldn't let us make any complaints. They told us to be silent," he said. Mr Jasim and his colleagues in the staff room agreed that the appeal of Mr Sadr, the son of a respected cleric murdered by Saddam Hussein's agents in 1999, was that he, unlike the other leading Shia clerics, had spoken out publicly against the US occupation and refused to negotiate. The young cleric's great strength is that for now at least he has captured a moment of acute frustration and desperation among a large slice of the population of Iraq's southern cities. Not all may support his radical and often violent agenda, but many appear to admire him for confronting the Americans. Najaf itself is home to all Iraq's most important Shia clergy, most of whom, unlike the young radical, have a reputation for conservatism and caution. That approach still finds favour with some, who have watched Mr Sadr's protests only from a distance. In a barber's a mile from the Imam Ali shrine, Jasim Saghir, 30, said his loyalty lay with Ayatollah Sistani, Iraq's supreme Shia cleric, who has been far more measured in his criticisms of the occupation. "You should not let appearances be deceptive," he said. "Moqtada is from our society and he is the son of a great cleric. But three-quarters of the Iraqi people follow Syed Sistani. It is his words we will obey."

Uprising in Iraq could derail Bush As US forces suffer another bloody day, Republicans turn on president Julian Borger in Washington Wednesday April 7, 2004 The Guardian President George Bush was yesterday struggling to prevent the escalating violence in Iraq from engulfing his re-election campaign, after his worst political week this year triggered bipartisan calls for a rethink of US strategy there. Fighting spread across the country as the US-led coalition fought a two-front war against Sunni rebels concentrated in the western town of Falluja and a radical Shia uprising in south and central Iraq. Thirty American soldiers and 130 Iraqis have been killed since the weekend in Falluja, where heavy combat continued last night. Unconfirmed reports said US planes fired rockets yesterday, destroying four houses and killing 26 Iraqis. US forces confirmed last night that up to 12 marines had been killed in Ramadi, 36 miles west of Falluja. Dozens of Iraqis attacked a US marine position near the governor's palace, a senior US defence official said from Washington. Early today, the White House responded to the deaths by declaring that US resolve was "unshakable". Its spokesman Scott McClellan said: "We will prevail. The president was told that our troops are performing well. The president is proud of our troops." In the southern Iraqi town of Amara, British troops killed 15 Iraqis in clashes with followers of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and another 15 Iraqis died in fighting with Italian troops in Nassiriya. Bulgarian and Polish troops also suffered casualties. Washington insisted yesterday that US commanders would have all the troops and resources they needed, and Mr Bush signalled once more that he was prepared to stake his presidency on defeating the insurgents. "There are thugs and terrorists in Iraq who are trying to shake our will," the chief White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, told journalists. "And the president is firmly committed to showing resolve and strength ... They cannot shake our will." However, with even Republicans warning of the imminent danger of a civil war in Iraq, and the administration's handling of the terrorist threat under increasing scrutiny, the president's image as a wartime leader is taking a battering. The news that Tony Blair is flying to the US next week for consultations has only added to the sense of crisis. The White House yesterday insisted that the visit to New York and Washington had been planned weeks ago, but conceded that much of the agenda would be consumed by Iraq. Mr Blair will find a president who is increasingly nervous about his re-election. Opinion polls show Mr Bush's approval ratings eroding, despite spending $40m (£22m) on campaign advertising in the past month. A survey by the Pew Research Centre found only 43% of Americans thought the presi dent was doing a good job, down four points from last month and 13 points from January. The poll, taken before the disastrous weekend in Iraq, showed a majority of the population disapproved of the way Mr Bush had handled the situation there. His national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, will defend his record tomorrow before a public congressional inquiry examining the September 11 attacks, but she will face a sceptical commission which has heard repeated charges that the Bush White House's preoccupation with Iraq overshadowed warnings in 2001 of an imminent al-Qaida attack. The timing of the commission's hearings has proved a windfall for the Democrats, who have seized on the apparent disarray in the administration's policy. John Kerry, the party's presidential candidate, said: "It is a mistake to set an arbitrary date, and I hope that date has nothing to do with the elections here in the United States. The test of a turnover of sovereignty is the stability of Iraq." Edward Kennedy, his fellow Democratic senator from Massachusetts, described Iraq as "George Bush's Vietnam". Paul Bremer, the US governor in Iraq, said: "There is nothing in common with Vietnam." But Republican senator John McCain said Mr Bush should avoid the mistakes of the Vietnam war: "We have to tell the American people that we are in this for the long haul. We cannot say, as we did in Vietnam, that the light is at the end of the tunnel." Other members of the president's party, raised the alarm over the emergence of the Shia militia and general unravelling of security. Senator Chuck Hagel, told the Washington Post the US was "dangerously close" to losing control in Iraq. Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, responded to calls for reinforcements by saying that the US military presence in Iraq was unusually high at 135,000.

US death toll mounts as forces try to quell savage rebellion By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad 07 April 2004 Savage fighting raged across Iraq yesterday as at least 20 US soldiers were killed in attacks on the American-led coalition that reached a crescendo of violence not seen since the end of the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. At least a dozen US Marines were killed in the town of Ramadi near the Sunni hotbed of Fallujah, a US official said, when their position near the governor's palace in the city was attacked by dozens of Iraqis. The official said a "significant number" of Iraqis were also killed. Five marines were also reported killed in fighting in an operation to get Americans into Fallujah itself, where four Americans were killed and mutilated a week ago. Iraqi casualties are unknown from those clashes because ambulances are not being allowed to enter the town. A further three US soldiers were killed in Baghdad. The latest confirmation of deaths meant more than 30 US troops have been killed since trouble erupted in three cities on Sunday. There was also heavy fighting in the Shia cities of southern Iraq yesterday between supporters of the militant Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr and coalition troops. Fifteen Iraqis were killed by British troops in Amara on the Tigris river north of Basra and a further 15 Iraqis died and 35 were wounded in gun battles with Italian soldiers for control of the bridges over the Euphrates in Nasariyah. A Ukrainian soldier was killed and five wounded when two armoured vehicles were set ablaze in Kut, a Shia city south of Baghdad. The war in Iraq has entered a new stage as the militia of the Shia leader Sadr, whom the US wants to arrest, has taken to the streets. Up to now almost all the attacks on the allies have taken place in Sunni Muslim districts such as Fallujah and towns north of Baghdad. For the first time most of the US casualties are being inflicted by Shia. The fighting over the past two days brings to more than 620 the number of American troops killed in Iraq since the war began. In Baghdad there was a sense of the crisis spiralling out of control yesterday with the US having to face a new battle front against the black-clad militia of Sadr. He is believed to have moved to a house in an alleyway in Najaf, one of the two holiest cities for Shia Muslims. It would be impossible for foreign troops to arrest him there without provoking a violent and more widespread Shia reaction. "My fate will be either assassinated or arrested," said Sadr, whose militia, the Army of Mehdi, has taken over the holy shrine of Imam Ali, whose golden dome rises in the centre of Najaf. In a statement, Sadr pledged: "The US-led forces have the money, weapons and huge numbers but these things are not going to weaken our will because God is with us." It was impossible to reach Fallujah yesterday after it was sealed off by 1,200 US Marines and two battalions of Iraqi security forces. US commanders have pledged to conduct house-to-house searches to find and punish those who killed four US civilian contractors and hanged their burnt and mutilated remains from the metal girders of a bridge over the Tigris. The main road from Baghdad to Jordan, which passes close to Fallujah, was closed yesterday by US soldiers manning a razor-wire barrier who waved vehicles on to a road which skirts the town. The scanty reports of the fighting said that marine combat patrols, supported by helicopter gunships, were launching reconnaissance missions but coming under fire from guerrillas. "The city is surrounded," said Lieutenant James Vanzant, a spokesman for the marines. "We want to make a very precise approach to this. We are looking for bad guys in town." It is not clear where the five marines were killed, the official statement saying only that they died in Anbar province. This area, stretching from Baghdad to the Jordanian border, includes the towns of Fallujah and Ramadi and has a population of 1.25 million ­ almost all Sunni Muslims known for their Islamic and nationalist militancy. The allies have tried to present Sadr as an isolated militant but the evident strength of his forces, making attacks in all the main Shia towns, shows that Paul Bremer, the US civilian leader of the Coalition Provisional Authority, has miscalculated badly in seeking or stumbling into a confrontation with him. On 28 March, Mr Bremer suddenly closed Sadr's newspaper, al-Hawza. He then arrested Mustafa Yaqubi, Sadr's lieutenant in Najaf, which in turn provoked demonstrations and attacks on police stations and government buildings in Baghdad and southern Iraq. "Muqtada Sadr does not represent the vast majority of Iraqi Shias," Tony Blair said yesterday. "He represents a small band of extremists. But the events of the last few days shows that Sadr's men are well-organised, committed and able to tap into a general feeling of hatred among Shia towards the CPA." 7 April 2004 12:19

Sadr's radicalism appeals to the young By Roger Hardy BBC Middle East analyst The chief US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has said he will not tolerate the activities of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr. Sadr is regarded as a dangerous hothead by older Shiite leaders He was speaking after violent confrontations between the cleric's supporters and US-led forces in both Baghdad and parts of the south. Mr Bremer told journalists that the cleric was, as he put it, trying to establish his authority in place of the legitimate authority, and that this would not be tolerated. Moqtada Sadr has been a thorn in the Americans' side ever since they overthrew the Saddam Hussein government a year ago. He is young, probably no more than 30, and his base of support is relatively small. Yet he comes from an illustrious Shia religious family, and his fiery speeches denouncing the American occupiers of Iraq strike a chord - especially among the young. US options The Americans have never been sure how to handle him. Their preferred option is that the most senior Shia religious figures, including Ali al-Ayatollah Sistani, should marginalise him. Privately, there is said to be little love lost between the older men - who regard Sadr as a dangerous hothead - and Sadr and his supporters who accuse the religious elders of excessive caution. But given the angry mood within the Shia community following the deaths over the weekend, the senior ayatollahs may be reluctant to speak out unambiguously against him for fear of seeming to take America's side. The other option the Americans have is to act against Sadr themselves. The latest crisis was triggered by their closure of one of his newspapers and the arrest of one of his senior aides. The aide was apparently accused of involvement in the killing of Shia cleric Abdul Majid al-Khoei in Najaf a year ago. But, as events over the weekend have shown, such actions only serve to inflame the feelings of Iraq's majority Shia. Americans badly need this community's support in the run-up to the handover of power to an interim Iraqi government in less than three months' time.

Iraqi Shias attack US-led forces Moqtada Sadr supporters want US-led forces out of Iraq Seven American soldiers have been killed in Baghdad in the latest round of clashes between Shia Muslim militia and US-led occupying forces in Iraq. They died in a battle for control of public buildings in the Sadr City area that had been taken over by followers of a radical Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr. His supporters were involved in earlier clashes in Najaf that left about 20 Iraqis and two coalition soldiers dead. Dozens of his supporters occupied the governor's office in Basra on Monday. Moqtada Sadr is an increasingly outspoken opponent of the occupation. Recent days have seen a number of demonstrations by his followers following the arrest of one of the cleric's top aides and the closure of his newspaper by the coalition, which said the publication was inciting anti-US violence. People have crossed the line... This will not be tolerated US administrator Paul Bremer Profile: Moqtada Sadr Most previous attacks on coalition troops had been by fighters drawn from the Sunni Muslim minority - who received favourable treatment under former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein - rather than the majority Shia. The BBC's Barbara Plett in Baghdad says Mr Sadr's movement is generally seen as the most radical of the Shia religious movements. She adds that a new front may have opened in the battle to pacify Iraq. Two senior US congressmen have warned President George W Bush's administration that Iraq faces the possibility of civil war. The Republican and Democratic Party leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar and Joe Biden, said the US should consider postponing the handing over of sovereignty on 30 June. Stronghold Dozens of men loyal to Moqtada Sadr - many of them armed - occupied the governor's office in Basra in a dawn raid on Monday but apparently met no resistance, the BBC's Dumeetha Luthra reports from the roof of the building. Policemen guarding the building appear to have taken sides with the protesters who claim they are engaged in a peaceful sit-in, our correspondent says, and there is no sign of the UK coalition forces who control Iraq's second city. The fighting in Baghdad broke out after members of a militia loyal to Mr Sadr took control of police stations and government buildings in Sadr City, the US military said in a statement. It said militiamen attacked the soldiers with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in the heavily populated Shia area on the eastern outskirts of the capital. As well as the seven troops killed, at least 24 were wounded while Iraqi casualties are unknown. The Baghdad fighting came hours after a march by Mr Sadr's followers on a coalition force base near the holy city of Najaf ended in violence. The protest took place outside Najaf's Spanish garrison where troops from El Salvador and other Spanish-speaking countries are also based. It is unclear who fired first but a coalition soldier from El Salvador and one from the US were killed along with about 20 Iraqis. Many more were injured. 'Terrorise your enemy' Following the Najaf violence, a spokesman for Moqtada Sadr said the cleric had called for an end to protests, asking his supporters instead to gather at his offices or in mosques. "Terrorise your enemy, as we cannot remain silent over its violations," a translation of his statement said. It was not clear whether this was an order for his followers to resort to violence. The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, said protesters had "crossed the line and moved to violence". "This will not be tolerated", he added. In a separate incident on Sunday, the US military said two marines had been killed in the province of Al-Anbar, a hotbed of anti-coalition violence.

Shia protests spread to Basra Allies of Moqtada Sadr took over the governor's office in Basra Supporters of a radical Shia cleric have taken over the governor's building in Basra, the southern Iraqi city under the control of British forces. The arrest of one of rebel Shia leader Moqtada Sadr's aides sparked the protest which attracted 150 people. Shooting broke out in Basra for the second time, with a 10 to 15 minute gun battle between British soldiers and militia leaving no casualties. In Baghdad on Sunday, eight American soldiers were killed in gunfights. And the wave of nationwide unrest has left around 30 people dead. Basra 'calm' Tony Blair's official spokesman said the violence was the work of a "small minority" of Shias and would not derail plans to give authority back to Iraqis in June. The spokesman said: "In case the perception is that Basra is in flames, that is not the case. "Basra this morning is calm, the UK troops are working in support of the governor and Iraqi police as they respond to the situation." Mr Blair will meet the Iraqi foreign minister for talks at Downing Street on Tuesday. Shia protesters, led by Sadr aide Sheikh Abdel al-Satar al-Bahadli brandishing a sword, occupied the roof of the governor's office at dawn on Monday. We have a group under Moqtada Sadr that has basically placed itself outside the legal authorities Paul Bremer US administrator in Iraq Profile: Moqtada Sadr Reporting from the roof, BBC correspondent Dumeetha Luthra said they were chanting "no to America, we'll sacrifice ourselves to Sadr" and waving pictures of their leader. Hundreds more protesters gathered outside the building. Our correspondent indicated the men say they have delivered a demand for the release of Mr Sadr's deputy, Mustafa Yacoubi, to the British forces who control the Basra area. She says the protesters claim to be engaged in a peaceful sit-in and though some of the men in the building have guns, none have been fired. She added that policemen guarding the building appeared to have taken sides with the militia. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman confirmed the occupation had been peaceful and said talks were under way between the protesters and Iraqi officials. Reuters news agency reports that the governor, Wael Abdul Latif, fled the building earlier. Clash Recent days have seen a number of demonstrations by followers of Mr Sadr, following the arrest of Sheik Yacoubi and the closure of Mr Sadr's newspaper by the coalition, which said the publication was inciting anti-US violence. The protesters are demanding the release of an aide of Moqtada Sadr On Monday, the US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, outlawed the Mehdi Army saying the coalition would not tolerate an uprising. On Sunday, Iraqi protesters were injured in a clash involving British troops after a peaceful demonstration in Amara. The Ministry of Defence could not confirm details of Iraqi casualties but said there may have been fatalities . A spokeswoman said a small group of Iraqis had attacked the soldiers with rocket propelled grenades.

Falluja: 'American graveyard' Looking on as a crowd of cheering Iraqis desecrated the bodies of four civilians killed by insurgents, 12-year-old Mohammad Nafik said: "This is the fate of all Americans who come to Falluja." "Falluja is a cemetery for Americans", militants warn The town has gained a reputation, particularly in recent weeks, as being one of the most violently opposed to the occupation. US troops have faced almost daily attacks there, and the recent killing and mutilation of four American civilian contractors - surrounded by a jubilant crowd - marked a new level of violence towards those who represent, or work for, the coalition. Falluja is in a region that has become known as the "Sunni triangle" - a predominantly Sunni Muslim area in a country with a Shia majority. The region also incorporates Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit. As well as being united by religion, there are also important tribal links, and it was from this region that Saddam Hussein (himself a Sunni Muslim - notionally at least) recruited his powerbase of support. That goes some way towards explaining the anti-coalition hostility in the region. After the invasion, the perks of being looked after by Saddam Hussein disappeared, and the confidence which came from being a powerful minority was replaced by the uncertainty of being simply a minority. In Falluja itself there is a particularly deep-seated enmity towards the Americans. Aril 2003: US paratroopers shoot dead 13 demonstrators May 2003: attacks on US troops become a routine occurrence Nov. 2003-Jan. 2004: attacks on three US helicopters kill 25 Feb. 2004: 25 killed in attacks on police station and civil defence compound 31 March 2004: four US contractors killed Images from Iraq haunt US Falluja anger on the rise Two weeks after the invasion was complete, angry crowds gathered outside a makeshift American barracks in Falluja and shots were fired. The US troops fired on the crowd and at least 15 Iraqis were killed. The incident served as a flashpoint, igniting a series of attacks against coalition forces across the region. Some of the attacks in Falluja since - or at least the support for them - can be attributed to a desire to take revenge for a friend or relative killed by coalition forces. The US troops who have been responsible for security in the region have had an unenviable task The Army's 82nd Airborne Division, which had responsibility for Falluja until mid-March, had increasingly left responsibility for patrolling the town centre to Iraqi police, and made only occasional forays into Falluja. But US Marines have now taken over and adopted a much more high-profile approach to tackling the insurgents. They have conducted raids on various parts of the town looking for weapons, and had frequent running battles with guerrillas. Crossfire Although several Marines have been killed, the Iraqi casualty figure has been much higher. Some 30 are thought to have been killed in the last two weeks of March alone. Many were simply caught in crossfire, and inevitably, that continues to fuel the tensions. It seems likely that the Marines decided not to intervene in the grisly violence in Falluja on 31 March simply because the contractors were already dead, and entering the town risked making a bad situation even worse. But the US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has said "the attacks will not go unpunished". Further clashes seem inevitable, not least because the Americans cannot afford to have Falluja seen as a no-go area, successfully challenging their authority.