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Friday, November 12, 2004

Twenty-two American troops have been killed and 170 wounded

Twenty-two American troops have been killed and 170 wounded in the four-day assault on Falluja that has seen U.S. forces take about 80 percent of the rebel city so far, a U.S. Marine general said on November 12, 2004. U.S. Marines carry an injured comrade after a mortar exploded on their position near Falluja on November 10. (Eliana Aponte/Reuters) Yahoo! News - Top Stories Photos - Reuters

Sammarra

A US soldier takes position in Samarra, a predominantly Sunni city north of Baghdad where a curfew has been imposed.(AFP/Mehdi Fedouach) Yahoo! News - Mideast Photos - AFP

My Way News-U.S. Troops Push Deeper Into Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - American forces pushed deeper into the southern reaches of Fallujah, cornering militants backed into smaller pockets of the city. Hundreds of men trying to flee were turned back by U.S. troops.

In Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, guerrillas launched mass attacks against police stations and political party offices in what could be a bid to relieve pressure on their allies here.

On Friday, Army and Marine units moved to tighten their security cordon around the beseiged city, backed by FA-18s and AC-130 gunships.

Some three to four dozen militants tried to break out towards the south and east late Thursday but were repelled by U.S. troops, the military said.

My Way News

AP Wire | 11/12/2004 | Friends Who Died Together in Iraq Honored

Friends Who Died Together in Iraq Honored

JULIANA BARBASSA

Associated Press


FRESNO, Calif. - Childhood friends who enlisted in the Marine Corps together and died together in Iraq were buried side by side.

Jeremiah Baro and Jared Hubbard, who played together, wrestled each other in high school and toughed it out together through boot camp, died Nov. 4, after a roadside bomb exploded. They were in Iraq's Anbar province, where the military was preparing to attack the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

Members of the armed forces, classmates from the nearby high school, more than 700 friends and family members packed the church pews and stood pressed against the walls at Thursday's memorial. Many wore red armbands with the Marine motto - Semper Fi, or always faithful. Friends said the phrase described the young men's dedication to each other and their families as much as it defined their commitment to their country, and to their mission as Marines.

"You couldn't say anything about Jared without saying something about Jeremiah, and you couldn't say something about Jeremiah without saying a little something about Jared," said the Rev. Tim Rolen.

Hubbard, who wrestled and played football in high school, and the slighter but pugnacious Baro were "two peas in a pod," said Bert Baro, Jeremiah Baro's father.

"You can't have one without the other," he told the Fresno Bee. "If one or the other survived, I don't think they would have been the same people."

Hubbard, 22, and Baro, 21, enlisted in December 2001, acting on an idea they'd had since high school, but motivated by the terrorist attacks that September.

The two men were dedicated athletes with a close group of friends - among them the dozens of high school classmates who attended the memorial.

When a group of friends went out, Hubbard was the last to go home, and the first up in the morning, ready for breakfast and a hike, said Benny Clay, who had known him since the fifth grade. Baro was more intense, and had a way of earning the respect of those around him, said Rolen.

Baro's girlfriend, Stephine Sanchez, also showed his lighter, caring side by reading a poem he gave her. Her voice broke into sobs before she reached the end: "You were meant to be my heart, my soul mate, my everything."

It was their second tour in Iraq. They returned home during the summer and trained together as snipers when they returned to their unit.

Two weeks before he was killed, Jeremiah Baro told his father of the latest action they had seen, when they had run into insurgents setting up a roadside ambush, Bert Baro said.

Bert Baro said he wished he had paid closer attention to the 30-minute conversation, not knowing it would be their last. He had been concentrating, he said, on enjoying "the sound of my son's voice."


AP Wire | 11/12/2004 | Friends Who Died Together in Iraq Honored

AP Wire | 11/12/2004 | Friends Who Died Together in Iraq Honored
MOSQUE RAID NETS WEAPONS CACHE IN WESTERN BAGHDAD in CENTCOM: News Release



Thousands break into compound: "Thousands of Palestinian mourners have burst into Yasser Arafat's walled West Bank compound to try to get close to his burial site."

In Ananova: War In Iraq



IRAQ: IRCS delivers aid to displaced around Fallujah: "BAGHDAD, 12 Nov 2004 (IRIN) - As fighting continued in the city of Fallujah 60 km west of Baghdad, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and other NGOs on Thursday succeeded in delivering the first food and medical supplies to those displaced in areas surrounding the city."

In IRIN: Iraq Crisis



Blair, Bush talks on day of funeral: "Prime Minister Tony Blair will hold talks with US President George Bush on the Middle East peace process, as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's funeral takes place in Cairo."

In Ananova: War In Iraq



U.S. Presses Fallujah Offensive: "U.S. forces struck deeper in Fallujah into a bid to complete the conquest of the Iraqi city. The Americans are trying to prevent the escape of any men from the insurgent stronghold."

In CBS News: Iraq Crisis



U.S. Battles Insurgents in Iraqi City of Mosul (Reuters): "Reuters - U.S. forces have carried out air strikes on Iraq's third largest city, targeting insurgents who have attacked police stations and fought fierce street battles this week, the U.S. military said on Friday."

In Yahoo! News: Iraq



Paying Tribute to Those Who Have Served, Fallen (Los Angeles Times): "Los Angeles Times - WASHINGTON — As U.S. and Iraqi troops pressed their offensive in Fallouja, President Bush on Thursday led the nation in celebrating Veterans Day, pausing to honor the millions of servicemen and women who have served their country."

In Yahoo! News: Iraq



US 'cornering' Falluja insurgents: "US marines say they are trying to trap rebels in Falluja in the south of the city on the fifth day of the assault."

In BBC: Conflict with Iraq (UK Edition)



U.S. Battles Insurgents in Iraqi City of Mosul: "U.S. forces have carried out airstrikes on Iraq's third largest city, targeting insurgents whohave attacked police stations and fought fierce street battlesthis week, the U.S. military said on Friday. (Reuters)"

In Yahoo! News: War with Iraq



Soldier asks court to stop deployment: "Scheduled to be shipped out to Iraq in less than 10 days, a Sacramento soldier continues to pursue his legal challenge to the Bush administration's so-called stop-loss policy that involuntarily extends enlistment periods."

In San Diego Union-Tribune: In Iraq



Black flags in Fallujah signal attacks in IraqWar.info



Some Iraqi Christians feel threatened: "Ameera Dawoud is a Christian, but as soon as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began, she traded her pants, fitted skirts and uncovered hair for oversize clothes and a veil."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Hardline Sunni cleric arrested in Baghdad: "Iraqi security forces, backed by U.S. troops, have arrested a hardline Sunni cleric and about two dozen others after a raid of his Baghdad mosque uncovered weapons caches along with photographs of recent attacks on American troops, the U.S. military and the Iraqi National Guard said."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



GIs force men fleeing Fallujah to return: "Hundreds of men trying to flee the assault on Fallujah have been turned back by U.S. troops following orders to allow only women, children and the elderly to leave."

In Seattle Post-Intelligencer: War on Iraq



Offensive "ahead of schedule" in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror



Iraqi leader defends Fallujah assault in Katu.com: Iraq & Terror

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