The attackers, who did not attempt to enter the camp, fled into a nearby mosque, but Iraqi security forces did not find them during a search of the mosque, a U.S. Seven other servicemen in the 1,000-person Camp Ramadi, about 60 miles west of Baghdad, were injured. Marine camp in Ramadi was hit by "indirect fire," which means mortars or rockets. military announced the deaths of three servicemen Saturday night when a U.S. It charged that the "enemies of God" had fabricated reports about a hostage crisis to justify a military attack targeting Sunnis in Madain. Salman Pak is another name for Madain.Ī paper pasted to the door of the main mosque in Madain carried a message from the insurgent group led by Abu Musab Zarqawi, the correspondent said. "t this time we are not aware of any activity in the Salman Pak area involving Coalition Forces," a statement said. military press office in Baghdad, however, denied that U.S. Apache helicopters flew low over the town, the correspondent reported. helicopters - warned civilians to stay inside if a military operation started. Leaflets on the street - which residents said had been dropped by U.S. The correspondent said many of the town's shops were shuttered and residents were at home because they expected Iraqi forces to move in. He said the conflict began with a dispute between two large families, one Sunni and the other Shiite. "This subject is all lies and it has become a big problem," said Sheik Ali Dulaymi, a Sunni Muslim tribal leader. "We don't have any missing persons kidnapped by armed men," said Saeed Abdul Mohsen Maksusi, prayer leader of a Shiite mosque. A Post special correspondent saw no indications of a hostage situation, though Iraqi police and soldiers searched cars going in and out of the town. The situation in Madain, a religiously mixed town of Sunni and Shiite families, remained murky Sunday. "We are also following the situation very closely," he said, adding that "by the end of this week we are going to launch a large-scale operation in the area to uproot terrorists from there."ĭawood added, "We have to acknowledge the truth that there is an attempt to draw the country into a sectarian war." Qasim Dawood, interim minister of state for national security, told the newly elected National Assembly on Sunday that five battalions of the Iraqi army and police surrounded Madain and that the government was "not sure" about the number of hostages. He is not expected to complete that task for at least another week, a Jafari aide said Sunday. Allawi is running a caretaker government while Iraq's newly nominated prime minister, Ibrahim Jafari, forms his cabinet. "I call for all political and religious entities to ask for calming down and to stop any nervous actions that lead to dangerous consequences."ĭealing with the troubles in Madain has been made more delicate because of the political vacuum in Baghdad. "These wild acts of destroying peaceful houses, kidnapping of innocent people and assaulting properties and families will not go without punishment," he said in a statement. And interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi appealed for calm. Shiite religious and political figures who had related detailed accounts of mass kidnappings on Saturday continued to express concern, but did not repeat those accounts. Lawmakers set up a five-person committee to look into the matter. The alleged hostage-takers reportedly were demanding that Shiite residents move out of town. Officials in the Iraqi capital, meanwhile, moved quickly to reduce sectarian sentiments sparked by allegations a day earlier of a mass hostage situation in the agricultural town about 18 miles southeast of Baghdad. "And they were kidnapped because they were working for Americans, not for the reason they were talking about," he added. Ahmad Kamal told a Washington Post special correspondent on the scene. In a search of homes on the outskirts of the town, Iraqi police found only three hostages, one of them Kurdish, Police Capt. military helicopters, maintained positions Sunday around the central Iraqi town of Madain, where residents disputed widespread reports that scores of Shiite Muslims were held hostage by Sunni extremists. Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers and police commandos, supported by U.S.
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