Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 4:42 PM
明らかに武装勢力はヘリを撃墜するノウハウを身につけたのだ。そして地上で
は、塩素ガスを発生する「汚い」爆弾を使い始めた。 米軍が稽古をつけてやったおかげで武装勢力はずいぶん進化してしまった。米
軍が次々と武装勢力を殺していくので、"新陳代謝"が活発になるのと、モチベー
ションを上げるので、武装勢力の方が米軍よりも進化のスピードが速い。すでに
米軍の敗北は確定しているが、敗北のスピードが高まった。
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東京（夕）２月２２日
米軍ヘリまた撃墜
１カ月８機目 イラク戦術見直しも
【カイロ＝萩文明】イラクからの報道によると、バグダッドなどで大規模作戦
を展開中の駐留米軍は二十一日、武装ヘリコプター「ブラックホーク」が首都北
部で武装勢力に撃墜されたことを明らかにした。
死者はなかったが、同機種の撃墜はこの一カ月余で八機目で、死者数は二十八
人。武装勢力は作戦を失敗させるため、徹底的にヘリも標的にしているとみられ
る。空からの作戦に頼る米軍にとって、戦術の見直しを迫られる可能性が大きく、
作戦の行方に影響を与えるのは必至だ。
米軍報道官は「携行式ロケット弾（ＲＰＧ）などで撃墜された」と述べた。乗
員九人は避難し救出されたという。
地上戦で米軍は道路脇爆弾などに苦戦し、武装勢力は掃討作戦に合わせ、従来
の遠方からの攻撃に加え、基地自体への自爆テロも敢行。このため現在の作戦で
は、空からの攻撃・輸送が極めて重要となっている。
ＲＰＧは簡素な発射装置によるロケット弾だが、高所から発射すれば、機体が
弱いヘリを撃墜することは容易とされ、開戦以来、一貫して米軍に打撃を与えて
きた。
しかも武装勢力のＲＰＧは「進化」しているとみられ、米軍は対応に苦慮して
いる。
米軍は一九九三年、ソマリアで国連平和維持活動に参加中、ブラックホークの
撃墜で撤退に追い込まれた経緯がある。
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イラク各地でテロ、２３人死亡 米軍ヘリも撃墜される
朝日2007年02月22日10時18分
ラクでは２１日、バグダッドや中部ナジャフでテロが相次ぎ、ＡＰ通信による
とイラク人計２３人が死亡した。またバグダッドで米軍ヘリＵＨ６０ブラック
ホークが撃墜された。乗員９人は無事だったが、イラクでの米国のヘリ撃墜は１
月２０日以降、８機目となった。
バグダッドでは、塩素ガスボンベを満載したトラックが爆発。５人が死亡し、
５５人がガスを吸って入院した。この他のテロを含め、首都での死者は計１０人
となった。
シーア派の聖地ナジャフでは、警察の検問所に車で近づいた男が自爆、警官７
人と女性や子供６人が死亡、４０人以上が負傷した。スンニ派武装勢力が、大規
模掃討作戦で攻撃しにくくなった首都を避け、中南部のシーア派都市を狙い始め
た可能性がある。
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Feb 22, 1:17 AM EST
Iraq insurgents again use 'dirty' attack
By BRIAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Insurgents exploded a truck carrying chlorine gas
canisters Wednesday - the second such "dirty" chemical attack in two
days - while a U.S. official said ground fire apparently forced the
downing of a Black Hawk helicopter. All nine aboard the aircraft were
rescued.
The attacks offer a sweeping narrative on evolving tactics by Sunni
insurgents who have proved remarkably adaptable.
Military officials worry extremists may have recently gained more
access to firepower such as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft rockets and
heavy machine guns - and more expertise to use them. The Black Hawk
would be at least the eighth U.S. helicopter to crash or be taken down
by hostile fire in the past month.
The gas cloud in Baghdad, meanwhile, suggests possible new and
coordinated strategies by bombers trying to unleash toxic - and
potentially deadly - materials. "Terrorists are using dirty means,"
said Brig. Gen. Qassim Moussawi, an Iraqi military spokesman.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman, said initial
reports indicated the chopper was brought down by "small arms fire and
rocket-propelled grenades" north of Baghdad, but gave no further
details. All nine aboard were taken away on a rescue helicopter, he
said.
In Baghdad, a pickup truck carrying chlorine gas cylinders was blown
apart, killing at least five people and sending more than 55 to
hospitals gasping for breath and rubbing stinging eyes, police said.
On Tuesday, a bomb planted on a chlorine tanker left more than 150
villagers stricken north of the capital. More than 60 were still under
medical care on Wednesday. Chlorine causes respiratory trouble and skin
irritation in low levels and possible death with heavy exposure.
In Washington, two Pentagon officials said the tactic has been used at
least three times since Jan. 28, when a truck carrying explosives and a
chlorine tank blew up in Anbar province. More than a dozen people were
reported killed.
A third Pentagon official said the United States has been concerned
about Iraqi militants' ability to get weapons like chlorine bombs and
use them effectively. But the official cautioned that chlorine bombs
are just one threat on a long list of possible attacks that Iraqi
fighters may try to carry out.
It was unclear whether the confluence of new insurgent tactics -
attacking isolated combat posts, targeting helicopters more intensely
and using chlorine bombs - was coincidental or in response to the U.S.
troop increase.
W. Patrick Lang, a former official at the Defense Intelligence Agency,
said the insurgents are always "seeking to achieve higher levels of
effectiveness" and these new tactics are part of the normal "evolution
of sophistication."
Lang said trucks filled with chlorine gas are "really quite deadly"
because the gas is potent and spreads easily.
Some authorities believe militants could be trying to maximize the
panic from their attacks by adding chlorine or other noxious substances.
"It is an indication of maliciousness, a desire to injure and kill
innocent people in the vicinity," said Garver, who also predicted
militants may begin to launch similar attacks because of the widespread
mayhem caused by this week's chlorine clouds.
"If there is a particular success, we'll see copycats. ... They
certainly pay attention to what they think is successful," he said.
In Najaf, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber killed at least 13 at a
police checkpoint. The attack fit a pattern that's believed to drive
much of Iraq's recent violence: Sunni militants seeking to provoke
majority Shiites into a full-blown sectarian conflict that would leave
Washington's plans in ruins.
It was the first major bombing in more than six months in Najaf, an
important Shiite pilgrimage site 100 miles south of Baghdad and also
the headquarters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, head of the
Mahdi Army militia.
The Najaf blast hit while streets were filled with morning shoppers. At
least seven of the victims were police and the rest civilians near a
checkpoint - part of the city's security cordon that includes Mahdi
Army militiamen, who battled U.S. forces in the area in 2004.
More than 40 people were wounded in the blast, which sent body parts
and blood over a wide boulevard. Crews stuffed limbs and bits of flesh
into cardboard boxes.
In Baghdad, another Mahdi Army center was hit. A car bombing in the
teeming Sadr City district killed at least three.
More than 10 people died in blasts across Baghdad - adding to the more
than 100 victims of bombings in attacks in and around the capital since
Sunday. The toll cast a long shadow over authorities marking the first
week of the U.S.-Iraqi security sweeps.
Moussawi, the Iraqi military spokesman, said the campaign to reclaim
control of the city "has achieved very important goals despite the
expected criminal reactions."
"God willing, the plan will continue to uproot terrorists and outlaws
across Baghdad and other areas," he told a news conference. He added
that 42 "terrorists" have been killed in the sweeps and more than 250
suspected militants arrested, but gave further details.
An American military spokesman, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, told a news
conference that U.S. and Iraqi forces were focusing on "belts" of
extremist activity in Baghdad and suggested talks are ongoing over when
and how to move into Sadr City.
It is believed that al-Sadr has ordered his forces not to challenge the
security operation up to this point.
"Anytime you can find a political solution instead of a military one it
is better," Caldwell said.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq may soon be shrinking.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said about 1,600 troops will leave
Iraq in the coming months if Iraqi forces can secure the southern part
of the country. Currently, Britain has about 7,100 soldiers in Iraq.
Denmark also announced it would withdraw its 460-member contingent from
southern Iraq by August, and Lithuania is "seriously considering" bring
home its 53 troops.
The British decision, however, is not likely to seriously shift the
power balance in Iraq. The British are stations in the mostly Shiite
south and are not directly involved in the sectarian struggles in
Baghdad and other parts of Iraq.
A U.S. Marine was killed in fighting in the volatile Anbar province and
a soldier was killed by gunfire in a neighborhood of Baghdad, the
military said Wednesday.
The Marine was killed Tuesday during combat operations in the insurgent
stronghold. The soldier was hit by small arms fire in a northern
district of Baghdad on Tuesday, a statement said without giving further
details.
At least 3,149 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq
war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
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