Haditha
From Chaldeans Wiki
Haditha (حديثة, al-Haditha) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, about 240 km northwest of Baghdad. It is a farming town situated on the Euphrates River at Template:Coor dms. Its population of around 90,000 people is predominately Sunni Muslim Arabs.
Haditha during the Iraq Occupation
Haditha Dam, the largest hydroelectric facility in Iraq, is located near Haditha. The dam and surrounding areas were initially secured by U.S. soldiers in April 2003 as part of the invasion of Iraq. An attack on the dam would have severely flooded towns along the Euphrates downstream from Haditha, as well as eliminating an important source of electricity needed for the re-establishment of the country.
As the fighting continued following the fall of Saddam Hussein, Haditha became a center for insurgent activity. It lies between Al-Qaim, an insurgent entry point, and Baghdad.
On July 16, 2003 Mohammed Nayil Jurayfi, mayor of Haditha, and his youngest son, Ahmed, were assassinated.<ref>New casualties test US resolve BBC</ref><ref>Rajiv ChandrasekaranIraqi Mayor's Killing Reinforces Fear "Washington Post" Foreign Service</ref>
In 2004, U.S. troops left a local police force in charge of the city and insurgents rounded up dozens of local police officers and publicly executed them in a soccer stadium.<ref>Andrew Tilghman U.S. call for Iraqi police in Haditha goes unanswered Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Monday, June 5, 2006</ref>
In May 2005, U.S. forces launched Operation New Market in Haditha against the insurgents controlling the city. However, resistance continued. On August 1, 2005, an ambush killed six United States Marine snipers in the city; on August 3, a roadside bomb killed another 14 Marines and their interpreter.
According to an August 2005 report by The Guardian, the town was controlled by insurgents, with US forces making only fleeting visits every few months. Like Al-Qa'im, it had come under a Taliban-like rule, with Western-style items banned and insurgents collecting the salaries of government employees.<ref>Under US noses, brutal insurgents rule Sunni citadel, The Guardian, August 22 2005</ref> this insurgent dominance has continued into 2006[1]
The Mayor of Haditha in November of 2005 was Emad Jawad Hamza.<ref>Tim McGirk Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha? Time Magazine</ref>
2005 Massacre
On 19 November 2005, US Marine Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas was killed in Haditha in a roadside bomb attack on Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines.<ref>BBC 10 O'Clock News, BBC, 2 June, 2006</ref> Subsequently, 24 Iraqis, including 11 women and children, were allegedly killed by 12 Marines from the unit. The US military is investigating these claims,<ref> 'Worst war crime' committed by US in Iraq, telegraph.co.uk, May 27 2006</ref> and two captains and a lieutenant colonel have been relieved of duty.<ref>Ali Hamdani and Ned Parker, Marines and the 'massacre': a neighbour tells of aftermath, 29 May, 2006</ref>
References
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