Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Despite U.S. troop surge, sectarian violence sprials
Security
(Azzaman) - Sectarian clashes have intensified once again despite the surge in U.S. troops. Sectarian factions have resumed attacking mosques of the opposite sects and dumping bodies of rivals on streets. A mortar shell was fired on a mosque in the town of Iskandariya in the Province of Babel, south of Baghdad, killing one person and injuring five others.
Fierce clashes erupted in the town in which attacks were carried out on three Husayniyats. There are differences in the places of worship attended by Muslim Shiites and Muslim Sunnis. Shiites’ pray at Husayniyats, which are modest structures in comparison to the mosques normally attended by Sunnis.
Security in Babel Province, though predominantly Shiite, has worsened recently as U.S. and Iraqi troops are striving to tighten their grip on Baghdad where 17 corpses dumped on streets were collectd by police yesterday. Iraqi troops say they have imposed a curfew on Iskandariya and the surrounding areas and called in U.S. helicopter gun ships to chase insurgents.
Lt. General Qais al-Maamouri, who commands the Iraqi division deployed in Iskandariya, claimed that his troops had the city under control. The violence started when a Husayniya was blown up by a car bomb in the district of Haswa, killing eight people and injuring 43.
Fierce clashes erupted in the town in which attacks were carried out on three Husayniyats. There are differences in the places of worship attended by Muslim Shiites and Muslim Sunnis. Shiites’ pray at Husayniyats, which are modest structures in comparison to the mosques normally attended by Sunnis.
Security in Babel Province, though predominantly Shiite, has worsened recently as U.S. and Iraqi troops are striving to tighten their grip on Baghdad where 17 corpses dumped on streets were collectd by police yesterday. Iraqi troops say they have imposed a curfew on Iskandariya and the surrounding areas and called in U.S. helicopter gun ships to chase insurgents.
Lt. General Qais al-Maamouri, who commands the Iraqi division deployed in Iskandariya, claimed that his troops had the city under control. The violence started when a Husayniya was blown up by a car bomb in the district of Haswa, killing eight people and injuring 43.
COMMENT: This comes as no surprise, despite sectarian deaths being down in Baghdad during the security operation, they have now risen again - probably due to the presence and actions of Mahdi militia resulting in reprisals. Throughout the security operation violence intensified in the provinces. Violent elements were merely lying low in Baghdad and biding their time. A troop surge will only achieve short term objectives. The solution has to be political, as well as miltary. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Husayniya, Iskandariyah, mosques, sectarian violence
