American and Iraqi troops raided a prominent Sunni mosque in Baghdad on Friday, killing at least three Iraqis in an operation that may have been aimed at a cleric said to have incited insurgent violence. In Mosul, in the north, Iraqi commanders staged numerous raids in search of rebel hideouts as up to a dozen decapitated bodies were found strewn about the city. At the mosque, called Abu Hanifa, blood was splattered on the floor after what witnesses described as a chaotic raid in which Iraqi soldiers opened fire after becoming involved in a melee with enraged worshipers. American military officials either did not respond to requests for comment on the incident or said they had no information on it. But on Thursday, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said imams who incited violence would be arrested. In Mosul, after reports that headless bodies were found, American troops were not able to confirm the precise number of dead bodies. On Friday night, an official with the Army battalion that controls the most insurgent-ridden parts of western Mosul said the beheaded bodies had not yet been recovered because of concerns they might be booby-trapped. [more] and [more]
- Pictured above: US soldiers stand on a roof of the major Sunni Muslim mosque in Baghdad, the Abu Hanifa mosque, Friday Nov. 19 2004. Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. soldiers, stormed the mosque after Friday prayers opening fire and killing at least three people, according to eyewitnesses. The sign reads: 'Prophet Mohammed'. [more]
- U.S. Death Toll in Iraq for Nov. Tops 100 [more]