The Husaybah "safe house"

AP:

U.S. warplanes launched multiple airstrikes Friday against a suspected "terrorist safe house" in the western Anbar province, destroying the building where up to 50 militants were believed to be hiding, the U.S. military said.

Coalition ground forces were alerted by local residents that a number of members of the terror group Al-Qaida in Iraq had gathered in an abandoned building northeast of Husaybah, near the Syrian border about 200 miles west of Baghdad.

The group is led by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the second most-wanted terrorist on the U.S. list after al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

"Iraqi citizens reported that approximately 50 terrorists were in the building at the time of the airstrike" which occurred at 4:40 p.m., the statement said.

The "known terrorist safe house" was destroyed by Marine F-18D Hornets using a combination of precision-guided bombs and rockets, it said. There were no immediate reports of the number of casualties inflicted by the attack.

This is basically the same story posted below from AFP. However, the "50 terrorist" in the building point out the vulnerability of the enemy in Iraq. Any attempt to mass forces, even for a planning meeting as alleged in this case, makes them an easy target for US forces. This weakness makes it impossible for them to take and hold any defended position. It also requires them to disperse their forces. The only way these guys can win in Iraq is if liberal antiwar pukes in the US are successful politically.

Back on May 30, 2005 the Marines reported:

Coalition forces defeated an enemy attack that occurred while they were raiding a suspected Anti-Iraqi Forces meeting place near Husaybah early this morning.

During the raid, they were fired on with small arms and rocket propelled grenades from several nearby buildings. They called in helicopters and fixed wing aircraft which engaged the enemy and ended the attack. Coalition forces suffered no casualties or damage to equipment during the hour-long fight.
Just two days earlier the WashingtonPost reported on a fight between Zarqawi and local Sunnis. This fight Zarqawi has picked with the local Sunnis has obviously led to some cooperation with US forces including the latest air strike.

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