Baghdad: The true picture ; As Tony Blair flies to meet British troops in the Gulf, there is growing chaos and resentment in Iraq FOREIGN Edition

• Published in: Independent (London, England : 1986)
• Main Author: ROBERT FISK IN BAGHDAD
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Independent Digital News & Media 28.05.2003
• ISSN: 0951-9467

TWO AMERICANS shot dead and another nine wounded by unidentified gunmen in Fallujah, two US military policemen badly wounded by a rocket- propelled grenade at a north Baghdad police station, a grenade thrown at American soldiers near Abu Ghurayb. That was yesterday's little toll of violence - not counting the Muslim woman who approached American troops with a hand grenade in each hand, was shot before she could throw the first and then, as she tried to hurl her second grenade from the ground, was finally killed by the Americans. Isn't it time we called this a resistance war in Iraq? [Tony Blair] flies out to Kuwait today as part of a six-day tour that will see him become the first Western leader to visit post-war Iraq. George Bush is also expected to make a triumphal visit to "liberated" Iraq in the next two or three days. In Kuwait today, Mr Blair will meet British troops and congratulate them on their success. The Fallujah shooting yesterday was about the most serious to date. The Americans said they came under fire from many directions, including a mosque, although witnesses spoke of two men climbing from a pick-up truck and opening fire on the troops, all from the US Third Armoured Cavalry Regiment. The soldiers returned fire with machine-guns mounted on Bradley Fighting Vehicles, one of which - in the chaos of the battle - smashed into a helicopter that had arrived to evacuate the wounded. Fallujah has been the most dangerous town in Iraq ever since soldiers fired on a crowd of protesters last month, killing 18 Iraqis and wounding 78. On that occasion, the Americans claimed they were shot at from the crowd, though not a single bullet appeared to hit the US position.