BAGHDAD - Speaking to
graduates from the Iraqi Police Academy, the top United
States administrator in Iraq, L Paul Bremer, on Thursday
said that the killing of four civilian contractors and
five US troops on Wednesday "will not go unpunished".
Bremer described the killings as "inexcusable and
despicable", and said those killed "have not died in
vain".
The vehicles of the four contractors were
stopped by grenade explosions, then strafed with rifle
fire in al-Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim-dominated town west
of Baghdad. The victims were dismembered and mutilated
by the crowd. Some of the burned bodies were dragged
through the streets.
The four American civilians
were employees of Blackwater Security Consulting, a US
government contractor providing security for food
deliveries in Fallujah, the company said. A company
statement said their exact identities were not yet
known, but "our thoughts and prayers are with their
families".
Earlier, five soldiers were killed
when their vehicle ran over an explosives device, which
blew their vehicle apart not far from al-Fallujah.
The US military has said that at least 48 US
soldiers died in Iraq during March, making it the
second-deadliest month for American troops since major
combat ended. The deadliest month was November, in which
82 US troops died.
In Washington, the US says
the recent spate of violence by insurgents in Iraq will
not deter it from its goal of handing over power to a
democratic Iraqi government at the end of June.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan made the
statement hours after a jubilant mob in al-Fallujah -
known for its support for deposed President Saddam
Hussein - dragged the bodies of four slain American
civilian contractors through the town's streets.
McClellan called the attacks "horrific" and
clearly designed to prevent the US from handing over
sovereignty to the Iraqis on June 30. But the White
House spokesman said the US administration is making
progress in establishing democracy in the country, and
will not be deterred by the continuing violence.
"We will not be intimidated. And the best way to
honor those who have lost their lives is to continue to
show resolve in the face of these cowardly, hateful acts
designed to intimidate and [to] roll back the democratic
progress and the freedom for the Iraqi people that we
are achieving," he said.
In Berlin, US Secretary
of State Colin Powell blamed Saddam's supporters for the
violence. He said they will be "dealt with" and
"defeated". He added: "These former regime elements,
these terrorists and others who are making trouble will
be dealt with and will be defeated. We regret the loss
of any life and I express my condolences to the families
of those who lost their lives today, but those lives are
lost in the cause of freedom, and the Iraqi people will
be free. It will happen."
The grisliest of the
attacks came in al-Fallujah, about 55 kilometers west of
Baghdad. The town is in the so-called Sunni triangle, an
area of central Iraq north and west of the capital where
resistance to the US occupation has been greatest.
Insurgents ambushed two vehicles carrying four
American civilians working under contract with the
US-led coalition. A mob of Iraqis then set the vehicles
on fire and used cars to drag the victims' bodies
through the streets of al-Fallujah.
Some Iraqis
stomped and kicked at least one body, and another corpse
was doused with petrol and set ablaze. Some body parts
were strung up on telephone poles. Two badly burned
bodies were hanged from a bridge over the Euphrates
River. Beneath the suspended bodies was a sign reading,
"Al-Fallujah Is the Cemetery for Americans."
The
scene in al-Fallujah recalls an incident in Somalia in
1993, when the body of a US soldier was dragged through
the streets of Mogadishu, the capital of the East
African nation. The US had sent troops to help stabilize
the country, which was torn by fighting among competing
warlords. The US withdrew its troops from Somalia within
a year.
There has been a recent increase of
violence throughout Iraq, including the southern part of
the country, which had been relatively quiet. But in
Baghdad, US Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the deputy
operations chief for coalition forces in Iraq, said
shortly after the attacks that the trouble is not
indicative of the progress the coalition has made in the
past year.
"Despite an uptick in localized
engagements, the overall Iraqi area of operation remains
relatively stable, with negligible impact the
coalition's ability to continue progress in governance,
economic development, and restoration of essential
services," Kimmit said.
The latest violence
brings to 597 the number of US troops who have died in
Iraq since the war began a year ago. Of those, 459 have
died since US President George W Bush declared an end to
major combat last May 1.
Copyright (c) 2004,
RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio
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