Iraq minus ‘another town’

By Ali Khaleel

Azzaman, December 6, 2005

In the aftermath of a joint U.S. and Iraqi attack, Hasiba is now a ghost town.

It is the latest in a series of Iraqi villages, towns and cities bearing the brunt of the destructive machine of the mighty U.S. military power.

Hasiba, like many other Iraqi towns, has been a victim of the ongoing, ruinous war pitching U.S. troops against rebels determined to beat America.

In the middle are the inhabitants of these towns whose dislike of the U.S. is only matched by their hatred of these rebels.

Hasiba was until recently in rebel hands many of whom of foreign origin.

These rebels had spread full control on Hasiba, turning the inhabitants into something like hostages.

But most of them fled the town before the U.S. military advance.

“Nonetheless, we were subjected to heavy bombardment. There is large-scale destruction. The military operations have turned Hasiba into a ghost city,” said Abdula al-Dulaimi, a Hasiba inhabitant.

Dulaimi said “large numbers” of foreign fighters were in the town before the arrival of U.S. troops.

“They simply vanished before the start of the military operations. They left the unarmed and innocent inhabitants to face U.S. troops and their random shelling,” he said.

He said only a few rebels had remained behind “giving the U.S. the excuse to inflict destruction on the town.”

A U.S. marine contingent is now based in Hasiba but Abu Aid said he was certain the rebels would return once the troops left.

“We want to tell the U.S. and the Iraqi government that we have no means to fight the rebels. They are so powerful to defy the U.S. How could we confront them?” Abu Aid said.

The inhabitants asked the government to station troops in the town and prevent the infiltration of “foreign fighters.”

Dulaimi said Hasiba was suffering from acute food and fuel shortages. “The government must move quickly to restore public amenities and rehabilitate the town,” he said.

Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi has promised to keep an army unit in Hasiba to prevent rebel infiltration.

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