Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Heavy Clashes in Tal Afar
In the northern Turkmen city of Tal Afar, US troops continued their siege. Eyewitnesses said that a guerrilla ambush of a US aonvoy inflicted substantial damage. [US military sources do not acknowledge this report, which may not be well grounded.] US airstrikes on the city killed one resident and a child, and seriously wounded 11 others, including 4 children. All this according to health officias ath the al-Zahrawi Teaching Hospital at Mosul and the Qada' Hospital in Tal Afar. Local eyewitnesses alleged that dozens of persons had actually been wounded by the US airstrikes. They said local and Mosul health teams had not been able to reach the wounded. They also said that Tal Afar remains surrounded and under siege, and that US forces have made many random arrests. Details were difficult to gather given the US security shield around the city.