The Najaf Battle Was Another Waco

Iraqi Army Massacred A Tribe Going To Najaf

They Shot A Tribal Leader And His Wife

The Story Of A Great Battle Falls Apart

The original story was some crazed sect of Arabian Ninjas was out to kill the clerics at Najaf. The truth is, this may be the biggest massacre in years.

Pilgrims Going To Najaf

A procession of 200 pilgrims was on its way to Najaf, on foot. Heading the procession was the chief of the tribe, Hajj Sa'ad Sa'ad Nayif al-Hatemi, and his wife driving in their 1982 Super Toyota sedan.

The Iraqis at the checkpoint shot the chief, and his wife.

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Tribe Fires Back

After the Iraqi soldiers killed the chief, his tribe fought back.

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Villagers From Zarqa Tried To Negotiate

Members of another tribe called Khaza'il living in Zarga tried to stop the fighting, but they themselves came under fire. Meanwhile, the soldiers and police at the checkpoint called up their commanders saying they were under attack from al-Qai'da with advanced weapons. Reinforcements poured into the area and surrounded the Hawatim tribe in the nearby orchards. The tribesmen tried - in vain - to get their attackers to cease fire.

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Iraqis Call Up US Army

The pilgrims run into the local fields, and US air power devastates them. The Americans used F-16s.

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The Mysterious Helicopter Crash

It's extremely doubtful that a bunch of pilgrims had the capabilities to bring down a Cobra Gunship.

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This Sect Had A Clash With Baghdad

The Hawatim tribe was creating a problem by opposing the Shiite control in Baghdad.

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A Massacre Is A Massacre

350 dead Muslims

3 dead Iraqi army

200 wounded Muslims

2 dead Americans

This was a wholesale slaughter.

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Was It Deliberate?

You just don't slaughter 350 men, women, and children, plus wound another 200, by accident. You literally had a group of 600 pilgrims being massacred in a field.

Natalee Holloway

Judicial Index