Friday, March 23, 2007
Al-Sadr aides arrested over deaths of U.S. soldiers
Security
(Reuters) - U.S. forces have captured a senior aide to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the killing of five U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala in January, the U.S. military said on Thursday. "Over the past several days, coalition forces in Basra and Hilla captured Qais Khazaali, his brother Laith Khazaali, and several other members of the Khazaali network, an organization directly connected to the kidnapping and murder in January of five American soldiers in Kerbala," the military said in a statement. Qais Khazaali is a former spokesman for Sadr and now a senior aide to the cleric.
Four U.S. soldiers were abducted from an Iraqi local government compound during an apparently complex assault by guerrillas posing as Americans in Kerbala on January 20. The military said at the time that three of the four were found dead by Iraqi police and one died on his way to hospital. In all, five soldiers were killed in what the U.S. military described as a sophisticated, well-rehearsed attack. One soldier was killed during the attack, then the attackers carried off four captured soldiers and later shot them to death about 25 miles from Karbala.
The brazen assault was conducted by nine to 12 gunmen posing as an American security team, the military confirmed. The attackers traveled in black GMC Suburbans — the type of SUV used by U.S. government convoys. They spoke English, wore American-looking uniforms and carried U.S.-type weapons, which got them through Iraqi checkpoints to reach the provincial compound.
The arrest announcement came a day after the AP reported that two senior commanders from the Mahdi Army militia had identified one of the brothers, Qais al-Khazaali, as leader of up to 3,000 fighters who defected from the Mahdi Army. They said the defectors were now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the militia's leader, firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The brazen assault was conducted by nine to 12 gunmen posing as an American security team, the military confirmed. The attackers traveled in black GMC Suburbans — the type of SUV used by U.S. government convoys. They spoke English, wore American-looking uniforms and carried U.S.-type weapons, which got them through Iraqi checkpoints to reach the provincial compound.
The arrest announcement came a day after the AP reported that two senior commanders from the Mahdi Army militia had identified one of the brothers, Qais al-Khazaali, as leader of up to 3,000 fighters who defected from the Mahdi Army. They said the defectors were now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the militia's leader, firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Labels: abduction, Karbala, Laith Khazaali, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Qais Khazaali, U.S. soldiers
