Monday, April 30, 2007
U.S. forces clash with Mahdi Army in Baghdad
Security
(New York Times) - Militiamen loyal to the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr clashed with American forces in northern Baghdad on Sunday, an Interior Ministry official said, the latest in a series of indications that the militia might be emerging from two months of self-imposed dormancy.
On the orders of Mr. Sadr, the militia, known as the Mahdi Army, has remained largely underground since the intensified security plan for Baghdad took effect in mid-February. But a steady increase in the number of corpses recovered from the streets in recent weeks, and sporadic clashes between Mahdi fighters and government forces, have suggested a possible resurgence of the militia.
Its return could significantly complicate the American-led effort to tame violence in the capital because it would split the attention of American and Iraqi forces, already struggling to subdue the Sunni Arab insurgency and interrupt its campaign of vehicle bombings against Shiite targets. The circumstances of the latest fighting remained unclear late Sunday.
The Interior Ministry official said American soldiers and Mahdi militiamen exchanged heavy gunfire near a prominent Shiite shrine in the Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiya, and that two American Humvees had burst into flames. The ministry official offered no explanation for the clashes.
Sheik Khalid al-Kadhumy, an official in Mr. Sadr’s organization, said that American forces surrounded the Sadr offices in the Kadhimiya neighborhood in the evening. Something prompted the Americans to open fire on the office and surrounding buildings, he said, resulting in casualties among local residents, though he did not know how many.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, an American military spokesman in Baghdad, said that he had no comment on reports of the fighting but that the military was working on a statement about the clashes. Some members of the Shiite community have been agitating for a return of the Mahdi Army in recent weeks, as spectacular car bombings against Shiite communities in Baghdad killed hundreds of people. The militia is regarded by many Shiites as a bulwark against militant Sunni Arabs.
Three weeks ago, American forces fought Mahdi cells in the southern city of Diwaniya. And late last month, Mahdi fighters battled Iraqi Army soldiers in southwestern Baghdad. But military officials hoped those were localized clashes.
On the orders of Mr. Sadr, the militia, known as the Mahdi Army, has remained largely underground since the intensified security plan for Baghdad took effect in mid-February. But a steady increase in the number of corpses recovered from the streets in recent weeks, and sporadic clashes between Mahdi fighters and government forces, have suggested a possible resurgence of the militia.
Its return could significantly complicate the American-led effort to tame violence in the capital because it would split the attention of American and Iraqi forces, already struggling to subdue the Sunni Arab insurgency and interrupt its campaign of vehicle bombings against Shiite targets. The circumstances of the latest fighting remained unclear late Sunday.
The Interior Ministry official said American soldiers and Mahdi militiamen exchanged heavy gunfire near a prominent Shiite shrine in the Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiya, and that two American Humvees had burst into flames. The ministry official offered no explanation for the clashes.
Sheik Khalid al-Kadhumy, an official in Mr. Sadr’s organization, said that American forces surrounded the Sadr offices in the Kadhimiya neighborhood in the evening. Something prompted the Americans to open fire on the office and surrounding buildings, he said, resulting in casualties among local residents, though he did not know how many.
Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, an American military spokesman in Baghdad, said that he had no comment on reports of the fighting but that the military was working on a statement about the clashes. Some members of the Shiite community have been agitating for a return of the Mahdi Army in recent weeks, as spectacular car bombings against Shiite communities in Baghdad killed hundreds of people. The militia is regarded by many Shiites as a bulwark against militant Sunni Arabs.
Three weeks ago, American forces fought Mahdi cells in the southern city of Diwaniya. And late last month, Mahdi fighters battled Iraqi Army soldiers in southwestern Baghdad. But military officials hoped those were localized clashes.
Labels: Baghdad, Kadhimiya, Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, Mahdi Army, Ministry of Interior, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sheik Khalid al-Kadhumy, U.S. forces
