Sept 12th in Baghdad

Aljazeera has learnt that the helicopters fired several missiles into a busy Haifa Street in western Baghdad.

Earlier, fierce clashes had erupted in the same area between US forces and armed men, setting a US tank ablaze.

The gunfire flared as more than a dozen explosions shook central Baghdad at dawn on Sunday and thick plumes of smoke rose above the Green Zone compound housing Iraq's interim government and the US and other embassies.

Other reports say the fighting broke out after a suspected car bomb exploded around 4:40 am (0040 GMT) in Haifa street.

The sound of heavy machine gun fire and Kalashnikovs reverberated for three hours from the vicinity of the street.

The fighting climaxed shortly after 8am, when an angry crowd of Iraqis pelted a burning US tank with stones and danced around the armoured vehicle, a witness said.

A pair of US helicopters then swooped down over the neighbourhood and fired off missiles and heavy machine-gun fire at the crowd, causing the people to disperse, an AFP reporter witnessed.

The US air attack left at least four corpses scattered on the ground.
Aljazeera + Agencies

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B13F5DC7-E9A9-4D86-8C05-235CBF641973.htm

As a group of Iraqi men gathered around the burning vehicle, US helicopters swooped in and fired missiles at the crowd. Machine guns were also fired at the men, leaving up to ten Iraqis dead and 35 others injured. Several vehicles also caught alight.

Explosions

All the casualties are civilians, the journalist confirmed.

The reporter further added that bodies were left in the street for more than half an hour, before an ambulance was able to transfer them.

A number of residential buildings have also been damaged and US helicopters continue to hover over the area, opening fire repeatedly, the journalist added.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen explosions shook central Baghdad at dawn on Sunday and thick plumes of smoke rose above the Green Zone compound housing Iraq's interim government and the US and other embassies.

Abu Ghraib blast

A car bomb has exploded outside Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, wounding at least three people, the Iraqi Health Ministry said. The blast occurred on Sunday morning.

In central Ramadi city, west of Baghdad, seven Iraqis have been injured during clashes between US forces and unknown armed men on Sunday morning, Aljazeera has learnt.

The clashes coincided with a mortar bomb attack targeting a US military headquarters west of the city.

Meanwhile, three Iraqi policemen have been killed and four others injured after the driver of a vehicle the policemen were pursuing, blew himself up. The explosion took place on a road near the main highway in Amiriya, west of Baghdad.

According to an Iraqi journalist interviewed by Aljazeera, Iraqi police explained that as the patrol approached the vehicle, the driver blew himself up, killing three policemen and injuring four others. Two police vehicles also caught alight.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B13F5DC7-E9A9-4D86-8C05-235CBF641973.htm

Neat-O!
How'd you guys do that? Post some tips and tricks sometime, cuz 'Mericans are gonna be dealing with this crap in their neighborhoods soon...