Monday, May 07, 2007
Sadrist denies U.S. allegations of violence and torture
Politics, Security
(Azzaman) - A senior member of the movement led by the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has denied U.S. accusations that his group was involved in violence and torture. Alwan Hassan, parliament member representing the group, said U.S. troops were targeting the movement because they were aware it could not tolerate their occupation of the country.
“The operations by the occupation troops in the Sadr City which have resulted in the arrest of many of our members and U.S. allegations that there are armed and violent groups in the Sadr City have not a grain of truth.
“The occupation troops are targeting the movement’s leaders under the pretext that they are heading killing and kidnapping gangs. This is an attempt to distort the image of the Sadr movement which represents the national trend rejecting the occupation,” Hassan said.
Hassan’s remarks come in the wake of the ongoing U.S. military operations in the Sadr City where the movement garners huge popular support and following U.S. claims of the discovery of a torture chamber there administered by the group.
The U.S. said it discovered the ‘blood-stained chamber’ early on Sunday and then destroyed it by a powerful controlled explosion. The whereabouts of Sadr is not known and is believed to be in hiding since the start of the current U.S. military operations to control Baghdad more than two months ago.
“The operations by the occupation troops in the Sadr City which have resulted in the arrest of many of our members and U.S. allegations that there are armed and violent groups in the Sadr City have not a grain of truth.
“The occupation troops are targeting the movement’s leaders under the pretext that they are heading killing and kidnapping gangs. This is an attempt to distort the image of the Sadr movement which represents the national trend rejecting the occupation,” Hassan said.
Hassan’s remarks come in the wake of the ongoing U.S. military operations in the Sadr City where the movement garners huge popular support and following U.S. claims of the discovery of a torture chamber there administered by the group.
The U.S. said it discovered the ‘blood-stained chamber’ early on Sunday and then destroyed it by a powerful controlled explosion. The whereabouts of Sadr is not known and is believed to be in hiding since the start of the current U.S. military operations to control Baghdad more than two months ago.
The movement has withdrawn its ministers from the government but it has kept its parliamentary block of 35 MPs. The movement has staged two uprisings against U.S. troops and Sadr has vowed not to negotiate with the U.S. and is calling for a speedy withdrawal of all foreign troops from the country.
According to CNN, A pre-dawn coalition military raid killed at least eight gunmen and uncovered a bloodstained torture chamber in a building in Sadr City that was later destroyed by a powerful controlled explosion. U.S. and Iraqi forces chasing a "terrorist" with ties to Iran early Sunday discovered a bloodstained torture chamber and a massive amount of artillery stored in a building in Baghdad's Sadr City, the U.S. military said.
The raid took place in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, and triggered a gunbattle that left eight to 10 gunmen dead, according to the U.S. military. There were no reports of any casualties among coalition or Iraqi security forces. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell would not reveal specific information about the "known terrorist" that was the target of the intelligence-driven raid because he was still on the run." As best we know this was some kind of Shia extremist element, some sort of secret cell," Caldwell said.
The raid took place in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, and triggered a gunbattle that left eight to 10 gunmen dead, according to the U.S. military. There were no reports of any casualties among coalition or Iraqi security forces. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell would not reveal specific information about the "known terrorist" that was the target of the intelligence-driven raid because he was still on the run." As best we know this was some kind of Shia extremist element, some sort of secret cell," Caldwell said.
Labels: Alwan Hassan, Iraq violence, Mahdi Army, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sadr City, torture chamber
