NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
August 5, 2004
Release Number: 04-08-17
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IRAQI NATIONAL GUARD ASSIST IRAQI POLICE TO REPEL ATTACK
Aug. 5, 2004
FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq - A quick reaction force from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit was dispatched at the request of the governor of An Najaf province after the city's main Iraqi police station was attacked for the second time this morning.
A significant number of aggressors, presumed to be members of the self-designated Madhi Army, began attacking the station with heavy machine guns, RPGs, mortars and small arms around 3 a.m. This came after an initial attack on the police station around 1 a.m. was unsuccessful.
Iraqi national guardsmen quickly reinforced Iraqi police, and the two units successfully defended the station from the attackers. Upon arrival of the Marines, Madhi Army members withdrew into the city's exclusion zone. No shots were fired by the Marines, and there were no Marine casualties. Enemy casualties are unknown at this time.
The attack is an overt violation of the cease-fire agreement reached in June between coalition forces and Muqtada Sadr, as brokered by the Governor of Najaf, other local civic leaders and the Bayt al-Shia (the informal counsel of senior Shia clerics). Attacking local police, whose sole job is to maintain peace in Najaf and keep its citizens safe, is another demonstration of the Madhi Army's disregard for the people of the city and their desire to prevent a free and prosperous Iraq.
The attacks this morning come on the heels of the Madhi Army's release yesterday of five of the six Iraqi police officers kidnapped in the past few days. The action occurred after the governor of Najaf, Adnan al-Zurufi, demanded their release.
On Aug. 2, 11th MEU Marines conducting a joint security patrol with Iraqi national guardsmen outside the exclusion zone in Najaf were alerted by the guardsmen to RPGs visibly staged in a lot near the An Najaf Maternity Hospital, close to Sadr's home. As the Marines moved to investigate the scene, they came under small arms, RPG and mortar fire. The Marines returned fire, supported by the Iraqi soldiers, killing an estimated seven Madhi Army soldiers. The Marines suffered one injury, though minor; the Marine after treatment immediately returned to his unit.
Eleventh MEU Marines stand committed with the citizens of the An Najaf province against those who violently oppose a new and democratic Iraq.
The 11th MEU assumed control of the An Najaf and Al Qadisiyah provinces on July 31, and are conducting operations in order to foster a secure and stable environment for the citizens of the two provinces.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT CAPT. CARRIE C. BATSON AT batsoncc@11meu.usmc.mil.
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