Iraqi Resistance Controls 150 K Road From Baghdad To Fallujah
Apr 17, 2004, By Muhammad Abu Nasr, Free Arab Voice; Edited By JUS

Al-Jazeera’s reporters ‘Abdallah Adam and Ahmad Faruq in Baghdad reported on Thursday that 150km of road running from Baghdad north of al-Fallujah is entirely under the control of the Iraqi Resistance. Resistance fighters have set up check points along the route as they take on security functions in the area west of the Iraqi capital.

On the road that follows a branch of the Tigris River, dozens of heavily armed Resistance fighters backed by still others were deployed behind earthen barricades in a permanent state of readiness.

Muhammad Abu al-‘Ala", a taxi driver who took al-Jazeera’s crew from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad, that the Resistance fighters call themselves mujahideen, holy warriors, and they have set up the check points because they hope to take captive every foreigner of any nationality participating in the war who passes along the road. The fighters, well known in the country for their Resistance have captured foreigners from countries that had not sent troops to Iraq too, such as China and Germany, although the Chinese were released. One Resistance fighter, however, told the al-Jazeera crew as he perused their passports, “we only want citizens of the countries that are taking part in the war against Iraq. We don’t want others.”

Taxi drivers report that the road from Baghdad to Amman is now a road for foreigners as other countries and companies are responding to the hostage taking phenomenon by calling on their citizens and employees to leave occupied Iraq in short order.

On the other hand there are truck drivers of many nationalities – Indians, Pakistanis, and others – who drive the trucks that bring supplies to the American occupation forces. They are naturally targets because of their role, independent of their individual nationalities.

With the United States besieging al-Fallujah the route to Baghdad has changed repeatedly in recent days as drivers seek ways to avoid American shelling. Yet even on the road along the branch of the Tigris there are signs of battles that raged between the US and their stooges, usually with air support, and the Iraqi Resistance which has brown more organized.

Observers note that the Resistance has recently adopted a strategy of strikes against the occupation troops that reflects a high level of tactical awareness and fighting ingenuity. Diverse methods are regularly and flexibly employed by the Resistance fighters as they seek to neutralize the Americans’ technical superiority.

In al-Fallujah the Resistance put up violent street battles that exhausted and confused the American invaders in the city’s warrens and back alleys. Outside the besieged city, Resistance fighters have hit American supply convoys relentlessly both increasing US losses and cutting the effectiveness of the forces already deployed. The Resistance bombards US targets over and over again. Resistance fighters plant mines in the roads where US supply vehicles are to pass.

Resistance fighters do not have any uniform style of dress, but all are masked or cover their faces with kuffiyehs. It is clear that there is a field command because when a passport is handed over for inspection, it is immediately taken to the local commander who is usually not present at the check point itself.

Dr. Muthanna Harith ad-Dari, member of the Board of Muslim ‘Ulama’ attributes the success of the Resistance to the deep seated concept of jihad, an Islamic obligation that is a fundamental feature of their culture. Ad-Dari says that another reason for the fierceness of the Resistance is the harshness of the American occupation which has treated the people of al-Fallujah with particular cruelty.

Despite the obvious gap in technological capability the Resistance fighters of al-Fallujah have written an epic. With only light arms such as automatic rifles and RPGs they have held back the most powerful army on earth and are still defying the Americans even as their positions come under bombs dropped from B-52s.

Another, moral victory, has also been scored by the Resistance as it draws the world’s attention to the Iraqi Resistance, to the justice of their cause, and to the popular sympathy and support that the Resistance enjoys within the country. Local people have joined the effort to keep roads closed to the Americans, raiding supply convoys and assisting the Resistance to carry on the fight.

Despite the rumors circulating in Baghdad that the cease fire is simply a means for the Americans to catch their breath and that they are planning a major push to wipe out the Resistance, the initiative on the ground remains, nevertheless in the hands of the Iraqi Resistance fighters – at least in al-Fallujah and its surrounding areas.

Source:
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