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Explosions rock fallujah kills police officer in baghdad Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/177/world/Explosions_rock_Fallujah_roads:.shtmlhttp://www.boston.com/dailynews/177/world/Explosions_rock_Fallujah_roads:.shtml
Explosions rock Fallujah, roadside bomb kills police officer in Baghdad
By Robert H. Reid, Associated Press, 6/25/2004 04:54
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Explosions rocked the turbulent city of Fallujah for a second day Friday, after highly coordinated attacks there and in other Iraqi cities killed more than 100 people and sent an ominous signal less than a week before Iraq's new government takes power.
Little was known about the cause of the explosions or if there were any casualties. Hours later, a roadside bomb exploded in a residential neighborhood in Baghdad, killing one Iraqi policeman and wounding another, police said.
There was no immediate word if Friday's violence was a continuation of the wide-ranging offensive on Thursday that targeted several cities. Three American soldiers were among the dead from those clashes, and at least 320 people were wounded including 12 Americans.
That offensive was the most extensive since attacks in early April. It showed a strength to the insurgency that appeared to surprise even U.S. officials who have been warning that guerrillas would try to sabotage the transfer of power on June 30.
U.S. and Iraqi forces regained control in heavy fighting and American forces set up checkpoints around Iraq to intercept weapons, guerrillas and bombs. They fear that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the militant who claimed responsibility for the offensive, plans a string of car bombings in Baghdad, Col. Michael Formica, commander of the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Brigade, said.
''There is clearly a transnational threat, as represented by al-Zarqawi, and that threats appears based on what we've seen in Fallujah and Mosul today to want to bring the attack to Baghdad,'' Formica said.
A large number of the dead from Thursday's attacks were killed in simultaneous car bombings in the northern city of Mosul, but some also died as U.S. troops battled the guerrillas.
''We underestimated the nature of the insurgency that we might face during this period, and so the insurgency that we are looking at now ... has become a serious problem for us,'' U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the British Broadcast Corp.
The U.S. military responded with heavy firepower, dropping 11 500-pound bombs and a 2,000-pound bomb.
The assaults were launched in the morning on Thursday, when black-clad guerrillas attacked police stations and government complexes in Baghdad, Baqouba, Mosul, Ramadi and Mahaweel. U.S. troops and insurgents traded heavy fire on the outskirts of Fallujah, where explosions were also heard early Friday.
The heaviest fighting was in Baqouba, northeast of the capital, where guerrillas shot their way into a government office complex, seized two police stations and destroyed the home of the provincial police chief. Insurgents brandishing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades roamed streets deserted by police.
Two American soldiers died in the Baqouba fighting, the 1st Infantry Division said.
But the day's worst bloodshed came in Mosul the country's northern metropolis often touted as a success story in restoring order in Iraq where the U.S. military said 62 people were killed, including a U.S. soldier, and more than 220 people were wounded.
Most died when at least four car bombs rocked the police academy, two police stations and the al-Jumhuri hospital.
U.S. troops recaptured the Sheik Fathi police station in a hail of gunfire, and Iraqi troops raided a nearby mosque used by insurgents, the U.S. military said. Mosul's governor imposed an overnight curfew.
Al-Zarqawi's followers claimed responsibility for Thursday's attacks in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site often used by his Tawhid and Jihad movement. The statement said the ''occupation troops and apostates'' meaning Iraqi police ''were overwhelmed with shock and confusion.''
Al-Zarqawi earlier claimed responsibility for the kidnappings and beheadings of American businessman Nicholas Berg and South Korean hostage Kim Sun-il, and an audiotape released Wednesday purporting to be by al-Zarqawi threatened to kill Iraq's prime minister.
Analysis of the tape showed it likely was al-Zarqawi's voice, a CIA official said Thursday.
American and Iraqi officials insisted the transfer of power would proceed as planned June 30. On Thursday, the coalition turned over the last 11 government ministries to Iraqi officials.
During the handover ceremony, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said the attacks were ''only acts of disturbances conducted by cowards'' meant ''to foil the democratic process.''
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