Words from Amiriya (Briefing #1)

I usually call my parents in Baghdad twice a day; the first one is at noon, and the other one at night. As i called them today at noon, they told me about fierce fighting all over our area, that started around sunrise Thursday.

Asking our neighbors, they said that the fighting was between the "Islamic Army" & the Al-Qaida's "Islamic State in Iraq".

My parents also said that different weapons were used during this fighting, from AKs to RPGs, not mentioning small rockets.

Fighting was concentrated on the main streets in the area, especially near the bridge which is on the Airport Highway and the High School nearby.

Asked whether there was any "vocal signs" from mosques, they answered that there was nothing from the nearby mosque except the regular Azan (call for Prayer).

There weren't any US patrols whatsoever during the day. It seems that the US Army is taking a wait-and-see attitude. The Army had kept the area completely blocked (except for on-foot movement) for about a week now.

The humanitarian situation is unfortunately expected to deteriorate is food would run short because of the blockade and fighting.

The clashes resided around 2 pm, when some US helicopters flew overhead. During (and after) the clashes, the area was totally empty, and residents remained inside their houses, or near them.

There were also words about some shots around sunset time far away inside the area, and some other shots every once in a while.

For all of you out there:
There are innocent people in Amiriya, who are mistreated by the US & Iraqi Army as well as the insurgents, and who are stuck amidst all of this chaos.
Please keep them in your good thoughts, and say a prayer for them before you turn off the lights.