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Iraqi Civilian Deaths ... caused by Bush's unprovoked war

 

Camp Falcon Attacked, Hundreds of Casualties
(GlobalResearch.ca, 22 October 2006)
The first live reports were aired live on US network TV: We're getting some amazing pictures, some very dramatic pictures coming out of Iraq to us from Baghdad. You can read the lower third there. "Explosions rock Camp Falcon just outside of Baghdad." It is 11:28 p.m. there right now. . . . MSNBC News bureau in Baghdad, the bureau chief said there have been a series of explosions near the Camp Falcon area located just outside of Baghdad, and CPIC is confirming that there was an explosion at an ammo dump, which would explain these amazing dramatic pictures in the night sky of Baghdad. It exploded at Camp Falcon. The U.S. military base is south of Baghdad. (MNSBC, 10 Oct, 2006) . . . Following these earlier live reports, there has been a virtual media blackout on the casualties and losses resulting from this attack on the ammunition holding area at Forward Operating Base Falcon. Click to see the Video of Camp Falcon Explosions . . . The official DoD report emanating from US Central Command (Release Number: 06-01-01PS, Oct 12, 2006) casually dismisses the attack by the Iraqi resistance, describing the explosion as having minimal impact with no reported casualties . . . Several reports suggest that the attack had the features of a major military operation, which does not fit the pattern of media reporting out of Iraq, which invariably presents an "insurgency" involved in isolated and uncoordinated guerrilla attacks by socalled "terrorist" groups. . . . There are indicaitons that the official reports are hiding the truth. . . . Given the nature of the blast, which generated a mushroom type explosion, there is reason to believe that the losses and human casualities were substantial. . . . The attack suggests that the protected International Zone (IZ), the socalled Green Zone is no longer secure and that US forces are no longer in control. . . . The Herald, 15 October 2006, provides a different version of what happened: "LAST Tuesday night in Baghdad the Iraqi skyline was lit up. In what was believed to be one of the most sustained and ferocious mortar and rocket attacks in three years, there was widespread fear among senior US military personnel that the protected international zone (IZ), formerly the "green zone", was about to experience a direct assault. Major gun battles were being fought in two of Baghdad's districts - Doura and Mansoor. Doura has a large oil refinery, Mansoor is technically an affluent area close to the IZ. Gunfire and explosions were louder than normal and then, at around 7pm, the first large rocket landed inside the IZ itself. Another hit came after 10 minutes, then another two minutes later. . . . Then a series of different to the daily "normal" rocket attacks, were felt. For those in the IZ, the explosions were so close and so fierce that, even for experienced military personnel, "you could taste the cordite in your teeth". The sustained attacks lasted for two hours, during which Camp Falcon, a major US ammunition and storage dump, was hit. . . . The attack resulted in what one security official called "a fireworks display". But the display wasn't put on for entertainment. Immediate military feedback pointed to casualties. With the IZ in blackout mode, specific troop and tanks movements were ordered, said to be a precautionary defensive measure. But there was highlevel concern that the fireworks would be followed by something the US military fears - a large-scale assault on the IZ itself. Helicopters were all over the place trying to figure out what was happening and where the attacks were coming from. Tuesday in Baghdad wasn't a good night if you needed to sleep. . . . The official US military line on Tuesday night was that fire had broken out at the weapons dump in southern Baghdad and that "ammunition cooking off" had caused the explosions." . . . There were no official reports of casualties. The Iraqi interior ministry added little, saying only that neighbourhoods close to the Falcon forward operating base in Doura had been "shaken". Copyright The Herald 2006

ALSO SEE: 300 Soldiers Killed And Injured In The Falcon Base Attack

posted by LoZo 7:42 AM