October 23, 2006
Devastating attack on US base in Iraq.
There was what appears to have been a "devastating" attack on the American "Falcon" base last week which was destroyed, but it's not being reported very much. Apparently it was the main ammunition dump for the US. When it was attacked all of the ammo went up, causing extensive casualities and damages, and absolutely incredible fires. Reports are very sketchy. It appears that as many as 300 Americans may have been killed, along with an enormous store of equipment of all types. This
report from
SF IndyMedia is the most complete account I've seen yet. If it was as bad as they claim I can understand why they're not reporting it. They quote this Arab report:
The US Falcon base, now described as burned out wasteland with no buildings was the scene of American helicopters dumping water on the site Wednesday to extinguish the last flames after resistance fighters managed to carry out a devastating attack that completely destroyed the American base.
They further report:
Iraqi Resistance forces attacked the largest US weapons arsenal depot in the American General Headquarters in the south of Baghdad late Tuesday evening. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the arsenal, located in the as-Saqr Base in the south of Baghdad is the main supplier of equipment to the US forces. At the time of reporting, mountains of American arms and ammunition were continuing to explode in the sky in a huge fire unprecedented in Baghdads history.
In response, US aircraft hysterically rocketed and bombed various parts of the city, the correspondent reported, trying to knock out the launch sites of the rockets that blasted into the American arsenal.
A source in the Iraqi puppet regime told Mafkarat al-Islam that the Resistance blasted the American arsenal, known as Camp Falcon, with Grad and Katyusha rockets. The source admitted that dozens of Americans had been killed or wounded in the blasts that were still ripping the American arsenal apart. The source said that the US forces were unable to do anything to stop the massive inferno of flame and explosions that was lighting up the Baghdad sky like fireworks.
[...]
General al-Ithawi said that the Falcon base was the biggest US arsenal in central Iraq and was the launching point for US military operations. The arsenal contained more than 50 tanks; numerous artillery pieces; a landing strip for Chinook helicopters, some of which were parked there when the place exploded in addition to armories containing weapons and ammunition. He said that all the buildings and furnishings of the base had been totally destroyed along with the archive records.
It's quite striking that they're trying to suppress news of the destruction of an entire base, not to mention possibly hundreds of deaths. They're also reporting that the damages may total more than a billion dollars, including lots of tanks, helicopters and other expensive items. There are some fascinating details in their report, well worth reading. If it really was the main operational hq for the US, then presumably it was well defended. Sounds like things are going downhill fast.
