Thursday, August 30, 2007
Al-Sadr and the Mahdi Army
(AP) - A look at Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia, which he said Wednesday would "freeze" operations for up to six months.
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MUQTADA AL-SADR: The radical Shiite cleric commands influence as both a political force and leader of the Mahdi Army, a network of militiamen and other factions involved in community services. Based in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, al-Sadr is the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, the most powerful Shiite clerics in Iraq in the late 1990s. He was killed in a 1999 ambush that his followers blame on the regime of Saddam Hussein.
The younger al-Sadr launched two major uprisings against U.S. and coalition forces in 2004. He maintained his anti-American stance, but later agreed to work with the Washington-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. In April, five of al-Sadr's followers resigned from al-Maliki's Cabinet to demand a resolution setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. Al-Sadr disappeared from public view at the start of the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad in February. U.S. officials claimed al-Sadr was hiding in Iran, but al-Sadr never confirmed his whereabouts. He returned to the public stage in May with a fiery anti-American sermon to thousands of followers.
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MAHDI ARMY: The militia faction was formed in the turbulent months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 by fighters loyal to al-Sadr. It has grown into one of the most powerful armed groups in Iraq by offering both protection to Shiites and providing needed community outreach such as clinics and welfare services. The Madhi Army — often known by its Arabic name Jaish al-Mahdi, or JAM — mobilized the two uprising against U.S.-led forces in 2004 and turned al-Sadr into a major figure in post-Saddam Iraq.
The Mahdi Army began to fragment this year with some factions suspected of forging closer ties with Iran while breaking away from al-Sadr's grip. Mahdi militiamen have recently intensified battles with the Badr Brigade — the private army of Iraq's main Shiite political group — for control of areas across oil-rich southern Iraq.
The number of Mahdi members is unclear. Some estimates range as high as 50,000 to 60,000 hardcore fighters, but others have set the figure lower. There are also many non-militiamen who are sympathetic to al-Sadr and his movement. It takes its name from a messianic figure central to Shiite Islam: the Mahdi, or so-called Hidden Imam, who disappeared as a child in the 9th century. Shiites believe he will return one day to bring justice to Earth.
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MUQTADA AL-SADR: The radical Shiite cleric commands influence as both a political force and leader of the Mahdi Army, a network of militiamen and other factions involved in community services. Based in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, al-Sadr is the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, the most powerful Shiite clerics in Iraq in the late 1990s. He was killed in a 1999 ambush that his followers blame on the regime of Saddam Hussein.
The younger al-Sadr launched two major uprisings against U.S. and coalition forces in 2004. He maintained his anti-American stance, but later agreed to work with the Washington-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. In April, five of al-Sadr's followers resigned from al-Maliki's Cabinet to demand a resolution setting a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal. Al-Sadr disappeared from public view at the start of the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad in February. U.S. officials claimed al-Sadr was hiding in Iran, but al-Sadr never confirmed his whereabouts. He returned to the public stage in May with a fiery anti-American sermon to thousands of followers.
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MAHDI ARMY: The militia faction was formed in the turbulent months after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 by fighters loyal to al-Sadr. It has grown into one of the most powerful armed groups in Iraq by offering both protection to Shiites and providing needed community outreach such as clinics and welfare services. The Madhi Army — often known by its Arabic name Jaish al-Mahdi, or JAM — mobilized the two uprising against U.S.-led forces in 2004 and turned al-Sadr into a major figure in post-Saddam Iraq.
The Mahdi Army began to fragment this year with some factions suspected of forging closer ties with Iran while breaking away from al-Sadr's grip. Mahdi militiamen have recently intensified battles with the Badr Brigade — the private army of Iraq's main Shiite political group — for control of areas across oil-rich southern Iraq.
The number of Mahdi members is unclear. Some estimates range as high as 50,000 to 60,000 hardcore fighters, but others have set the figure lower. There are also many non-militiamen who are sympathetic to al-Sadr and his movement. It takes its name from a messianic figure central to Shiite Islam: the Mahdi, or so-called Hidden Imam, who disappeared as a child in the 9th century. Shiites believe he will return one day to bring justice to Earth.
Labels: Badr Brigade, Jaish al-Mahdi, JAM, Mahdi Army, Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Najaf
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Iraq, U.S. forces detain 12 "rogue" members of Mahdi Army
Security
(AFP) - Iraqi and US forces have detained 12 "rogue" members of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Shiite militia allegedly behind bomb attacks and assassinations of Sunni Arabs, the US military said Tuesday. The 12 were detained on Monday in a series of coordinated raids across Baghdad, a military statement said. "Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with US Special Forces as advisors, conducted synchronised intelligence driven operations that detained 12 rogue Jaish al-Mahdi insurgents ... in Baghdad," it said.
"The detainees include eight high-level leaders linked to JAM (Jaish al-Mahdi) special groups that carry out attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces," it added. The US military accuses JAM, widely known as the Mahdi Army, of being behind unrelenting sectarian attacks against minority Sunni Arabs since vicious communal bloodletting broke out last year.
"The suspects include a brigade commander, battalion commander, two company commanders and one leader of an extra-judicial killing cell," the military said. The forces also captured several JAM cell members suspected of carrying out murders and bomb attacks, it added. The military said the brigade commander was responsible for five groups under his control and transported bombs from Iran into Iraq.
He recently ordered a bomb attack "that caused the death of two US soldiers," the military said. "The suspect also reportedly ordered his JAM members to set up illegal checkpoints to hunt down and assassinate Sunni citizens."
"The detainees include eight high-level leaders linked to JAM (Jaish al-Mahdi) special groups that carry out attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces," it added. The US military accuses JAM, widely known as the Mahdi Army, of being behind unrelenting sectarian attacks against minority Sunni Arabs since vicious communal bloodletting broke out last year.
"The suspects include a brigade commander, battalion commander, two company commanders and one leader of an extra-judicial killing cell," the military said. The forces also captured several JAM cell members suspected of carrying out murders and bomb attacks, it added. The military said the brigade commander was responsible for five groups under his control and transported bombs from Iran into Iraq.
He recently ordered a bomb attack "that caused the death of two US soldiers," the military said. "The suspect also reportedly ordered his JAM members to set up illegal checkpoints to hunt down and assassinate Sunni citizens."
Labels: Jaish al-Mahdi, JAM, Mahdi Army
Monday, August 13, 2007
Shiite militia tightens its grip as rogue elements become bolder
Security
(AP) -- A Muslim imam dropped his cloak to the sidewalk. It was a signal for the gunmen to move. They surrounded the top Iraqi security official in a north Baghdad district. Iraqi military vehicles - commandeered by other Shiite militiamen - screeched into a cordon, blocking his exit. A gun was put to his head. Brig. Gen. Falah Hassan Kanbar, a fellow Shiite, managed to escape when his bodyguards pulled him into a vehicle that sped down an alley.
Details of the Aug. 5 ambush emerged this week in interviews with Kanbar, U.S. military and intelligence officials. It remains unclear whether the thugs sought to kill Kanbar or simply intimidate him, but suspicions over the source of the brazen assault pointed in just one direction: the powerful Shiite armed faction known as the Mahdi Army and its increasingly unpredictable trajectory.
The vast Mahdi network - ranging from hardcore fighting units to community aid groups - is emerging as perhaps the biggest wild card as Iraq's U.S.-backed government stumbles and the Pentagon struggles to build a credible Iraqi security force to allow an eventual U.S. withdrawal. Just a few months ago, the Mahdi Army and its leader, firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, were seen as reluctant - but critical - partners with Iraq's leadership. Al-Sadr agreed to government appeals to lessen his anti-American fervor and not directly challenge the waves of U.S. soldiers trying to regain control of Baghdad and surrounding areas. But now, the once-cohesive ranks of the Mahdi Army are splintering into rival factions with widely varying priorities.
Some breakaway guerrillas are accused by Washington of strengthening ties with Iranian patrons supplying parts for powerful roadside bombs - which accounted for nearly three-quarters of U.S. military deaths and injuries last month. The devices suggest that Shiite militias could replace Sunni insurgents as the top threat to American troops.
Other Mahdi loyalists are seeking to expand their footholds in the Iraqi military and police, frustrating U.S. attempts to bring more Sunni Muslims into the forces as part of national reconciliation goals. And in many Shiite strongholds across Iraq, Mahdi crews are trying to shore up their power and influence. The pace has picked up with the sense that the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government could be irrevocably damaged after political mutinies by Sunni and Shiite Cabinet ministers.
The Mahdi Army, meanwhile, appears to be going through its own leadership crisis. Al-Sadr has been unable to rein in the renegade Mahdi factions. On Friday, a U.S. military commander said al-Sadr had returned to Iran, where he spent several months earlier this year. Al-Sadr's top aides called the claim baseless. But there is no dispute that Mahdi Army operatives are busy planning for the future.
The militia is working behind-the-scenes to solidify control of rent markets, fuel distribution and other services in Shiite neighborhoods - taking a page from other influential groups across the region, such as Hezbollah, that have mixed militia muscle and social outreach. For the U.S. military, the gun-wielding attack on the Iraqi brigadier general in Kazimiyah - a main Shiite enclave in northern Baghdad - highlights just how far the Mahdi bosses are willing to go against anyone they cannot control.
"(He) is the cleanest guy you can find in Kazimiyah, and he works with us. That's why they want him dead," said Capt. Nick Kron, 28, a Richmond, Va., native with the Army's 1st Infantry Division. Kazimiyah - home to Baghdad's holiest Shiite shrine - puts the Mahdi Army's strength on full display. U.S. officials believe the head of the Kazimiyah faction is Hazim al-Araji, a Shiite imam and brother of Bahaa al-Araji, a Sadrist member of parliament. Through the al-Araji brothers, the Kazimiyah group has close ties to Iraqi politicians in the Green Zone, as well as to clerics in the holy city of Najaf, home to al-Sadr as well as Iraq's top Shiite religious figure, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
"With that political cover, these guys can get away with anything," said Lt. Col. Steve Miska, head of the 1st Infantry Division's Task Force Justice and the top U.S. officer in Kazimiyah. Each day, militiamen in civilian clothes patrol in the tight cluster of winding streets surrounding the Imam al-Kadhim shrine. U.S. forces keep their distance. They fear an all-out insurrection if they crack down on the Mahdi Army, often called by the Arabic acronym JAM. Also, they acknowledge that the Mahdi presence helps keep Sunni insurgents away.
"We could go downtown and have direct confrontation with JAM, and it'd be a tactical victory for us, but the political backlash would make it not worth it," said Miska, of Greenport, N.Y. The neighboring Shiite enclave of Shula is the base for the Mahdi Army's hit men, who kidnap and kill Sunnis - and increasingly, fellow Shiites - after trying them in impromptu Islamic courts, U.S. officials said.
The surge in Mahdi Army activity in Kazimiyah has also meant increased attacks on U.S. forces. In the past four months, more than a dozen powerful, armor-piercing bombs were found in Kazimiyah. The so-called EFPs - explosively-formed penetrators - are the type the U.S. believes are funneled to the Mahdi Army by Iranian agents. In May, an American soldier was killed by an EFP planted near the gates of a U.S. base in Kazimiyah.
Although U.S. forces have so far avoided full-scale confrontation with the Mahdi Army, strategic strikes appear to be increasing. Last week, American soldiers arrested an Iraqi Army company commander accused of involvement in planting roadside bombs to target U.S. forces. A known Mahdi Army operative, Maj. Ali Farhan, is also suspected of funneling weapons to militiamen and allowing them to pass freely through Iraqi checkpoints. He remains in U.S. custody.
On Tuesday, U.S. aircraft and soldiers attacked a suspected Shiite militia cell accused of importing the bombs and sending members to Iran for training. The U.S. military said 32 suspected militants were killed and 12 captured in raids that coincided with a visit to Tehran by Iraqi prime minister. For now, the Iraqi army officer Kanbar is in hiding. He is the only Iraqi official with a free pass to go unchecked through security at the U.S. military base in Kazimiyah. "He is a rare breed in Iraq ... He's serving his country as best he can in a very, very difficult political situation," Miska said.
Details of the Aug. 5 ambush emerged this week in interviews with Kanbar, U.S. military and intelligence officials. It remains unclear whether the thugs sought to kill Kanbar or simply intimidate him, but suspicions over the source of the brazen assault pointed in just one direction: the powerful Shiite armed faction known as the Mahdi Army and its increasingly unpredictable trajectory.
The vast Mahdi network - ranging from hardcore fighting units to community aid groups - is emerging as perhaps the biggest wild card as Iraq's U.S.-backed government stumbles and the Pentagon struggles to build a credible Iraqi security force to allow an eventual U.S. withdrawal. Just a few months ago, the Mahdi Army and its leader, firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, were seen as reluctant - but critical - partners with Iraq's leadership. Al-Sadr agreed to government appeals to lessen his anti-American fervor and not directly challenge the waves of U.S. soldiers trying to regain control of Baghdad and surrounding areas. But now, the once-cohesive ranks of the Mahdi Army are splintering into rival factions with widely varying priorities.
Some breakaway guerrillas are accused by Washington of strengthening ties with Iranian patrons supplying parts for powerful roadside bombs - which accounted for nearly three-quarters of U.S. military deaths and injuries last month. The devices suggest that Shiite militias could replace Sunni insurgents as the top threat to American troops.
Other Mahdi loyalists are seeking to expand their footholds in the Iraqi military and police, frustrating U.S. attempts to bring more Sunni Muslims into the forces as part of national reconciliation goals. And in many Shiite strongholds across Iraq, Mahdi crews are trying to shore up their power and influence. The pace has picked up with the sense that the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government could be irrevocably damaged after political mutinies by Sunni and Shiite Cabinet ministers.
The Mahdi Army, meanwhile, appears to be going through its own leadership crisis. Al-Sadr has been unable to rein in the renegade Mahdi factions. On Friday, a U.S. military commander said al-Sadr had returned to Iran, where he spent several months earlier this year. Al-Sadr's top aides called the claim baseless. But there is no dispute that Mahdi Army operatives are busy planning for the future.
The militia is working behind-the-scenes to solidify control of rent markets, fuel distribution and other services in Shiite neighborhoods - taking a page from other influential groups across the region, such as Hezbollah, that have mixed militia muscle and social outreach. For the U.S. military, the gun-wielding attack on the Iraqi brigadier general in Kazimiyah - a main Shiite enclave in northern Baghdad - highlights just how far the Mahdi bosses are willing to go against anyone they cannot control.
"(He) is the cleanest guy you can find in Kazimiyah, and he works with us. That's why they want him dead," said Capt. Nick Kron, 28, a Richmond, Va., native with the Army's 1st Infantry Division. Kazimiyah - home to Baghdad's holiest Shiite shrine - puts the Mahdi Army's strength on full display. U.S. officials believe the head of the Kazimiyah faction is Hazim al-Araji, a Shiite imam and brother of Bahaa al-Araji, a Sadrist member of parliament. Through the al-Araji brothers, the Kazimiyah group has close ties to Iraqi politicians in the Green Zone, as well as to clerics in the holy city of Najaf, home to al-Sadr as well as Iraq's top Shiite religious figure, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
"With that political cover, these guys can get away with anything," said Lt. Col. Steve Miska, head of the 1st Infantry Division's Task Force Justice and the top U.S. officer in Kazimiyah. Each day, militiamen in civilian clothes patrol in the tight cluster of winding streets surrounding the Imam al-Kadhim shrine. U.S. forces keep their distance. They fear an all-out insurrection if they crack down on the Mahdi Army, often called by the Arabic acronym JAM. Also, they acknowledge that the Mahdi presence helps keep Sunni insurgents away.
"We could go downtown and have direct confrontation with JAM, and it'd be a tactical victory for us, but the political backlash would make it not worth it," said Miska, of Greenport, N.Y. The neighboring Shiite enclave of Shula is the base for the Mahdi Army's hit men, who kidnap and kill Sunnis - and increasingly, fellow Shiites - after trying them in impromptu Islamic courts, U.S. officials said.
The surge in Mahdi Army activity in Kazimiyah has also meant increased attacks on U.S. forces. In the past four months, more than a dozen powerful, armor-piercing bombs were found in Kazimiyah. The so-called EFPs - explosively-formed penetrators - are the type the U.S. believes are funneled to the Mahdi Army by Iranian agents. In May, an American soldier was killed by an EFP planted near the gates of a U.S. base in Kazimiyah.
Although U.S. forces have so far avoided full-scale confrontation with the Mahdi Army, strategic strikes appear to be increasing. Last week, American soldiers arrested an Iraqi Army company commander accused of involvement in planting roadside bombs to target U.S. forces. A known Mahdi Army operative, Maj. Ali Farhan, is also suspected of funneling weapons to militiamen and allowing them to pass freely through Iraqi checkpoints. He remains in U.S. custody.
On Tuesday, U.S. aircraft and soldiers attacked a suspected Shiite militia cell accused of importing the bombs and sending members to Iran for training. The U.S. military said 32 suspected militants were killed and 12 captured in raids that coincided with a visit to Tehran by Iraqi prime minister. For now, the Iraqi army officer Kanbar is in hiding. He is the only Iraqi official with a free pass to go unchecked through security at the U.S. military base in Kazimiyah. "He is a rare breed in Iraq ... He's serving his country as best he can in a very, very difficult political situation," Miska said.
Labels: Bahaa Al-Araji, Brig. Gen. Falah Hassan Kanbar, EFPs, Hazim al-Araji, Iran, JAM, Kazimiyah, Mahdi Army, Maj. Ali Farhan, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sharia, Shula
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Iraqi-U.S. security forces rely on Mahdi Army to protect shrine
Security
(AP) - The mosque of Imam Kadhim, the most revered Shiite shrine in Baghdad, is a tempting target for Sunni insurgents. To protect it, Iraqi and U.S. troops rely on the Mahdi Army, the same Shiite militia that Washington considers a threat to Iraq's stability. That cuts to the heart of a dilemma for the U.S. military three months into the campaign to pacify Baghdad: whether to risk fierce battles by confronting Shiite militiamen blamed for massacring Sunnis or to deal with "moderates" in the Mahdi Army — which the U.S. believes receives weapons and training from Iran.
In Kazimiyah, a densely packed neighborhood of wooden shops and cheap hotels for Shiite pilgrims, the Americans and their Iraqi partners have opted for militia help to protect the shimmering, blue-domed shrine.
While U.S. soldiers continue to arrest individual Mahdi Army members in Kazimiyah and elsewhere, U.S. and Iraqi officers have not moved to break up the militia's security network that protects the shrine. Plainclothes militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr set up impromptu checkpoints and patrol alleys day and night near the mosque.
The Americans believe that leaving a discreet security role for the Mahdi Army, which U.S. officers refer to by its Arabic acronym JAM, is better than either picking a fight with the militia or taking the blame if Sunni extremists manage a repeat of the February 2006 bombing of another Shiite shrine in Samarra. That attack, which the U.S. blames on al-Qaida, unleashed a wave of sectarian bloodletting and reprisal attacks on mosques, plunging the country into civil conflict.
Without the militia, U.S. and Iraqi officers acknowledge that the 2,000 Iraqi security forces and 500 American soldiers based in the area would be hard-pressed to protect the neighborhood's 120,000 residents and the shrine, which houses the tombs of two 8th century Shiite imams. By leaving the Mahdi security network in place around the shrine, U.S. commanders do not need to divert resources from other parts of the city where security is worse.
"There are a lot of people affiliated with JAM, and if we made them all enemies, we'd be in trouble," said Lt. Col. Steve Miska, 39, of Greenport, N.Y., who commands U.S. troops in northwest Baghdad. "So we try to sort out who's extremist JAM and can't be reasoned with because of their ideology, and who we can live with as long as they're not killing U.S. and Iraqi soldiers or civilians."
In Kazimiyah, a densely packed neighborhood of wooden shops and cheap hotels for Shiite pilgrims, the Americans and their Iraqi partners have opted for militia help to protect the shimmering, blue-domed shrine.
While U.S. soldiers continue to arrest individual Mahdi Army members in Kazimiyah and elsewhere, U.S. and Iraqi officers have not moved to break up the militia's security network that protects the shrine. Plainclothes militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr set up impromptu checkpoints and patrol alleys day and night near the mosque.
The Americans believe that leaving a discreet security role for the Mahdi Army, which U.S. officers refer to by its Arabic acronym JAM, is better than either picking a fight with the militia or taking the blame if Sunni extremists manage a repeat of the February 2006 bombing of another Shiite shrine in Samarra. That attack, which the U.S. blames on al-Qaida, unleashed a wave of sectarian bloodletting and reprisal attacks on mosques, plunging the country into civil conflict.
Without the militia, U.S. and Iraqi officers acknowledge that the 2,000 Iraqi security forces and 500 American soldiers based in the area would be hard-pressed to protect the neighborhood's 120,000 residents and the shrine, which houses the tombs of two 8th century Shiite imams. By leaving the Mahdi security network in place around the shrine, U.S. commanders do not need to divert resources from other parts of the city where security is worse.
"There are a lot of people affiliated with JAM, and if we made them all enemies, we'd be in trouble," said Lt. Col. Steve Miska, 39, of Greenport, N.Y., who commands U.S. troops in northwest Baghdad. "So we try to sort out who's extremist JAM and can't be reasoned with because of their ideology, and who we can live with as long as they're not killing U.S. and Iraqi soldiers or civilians."
Labels: JAM, Kazimiyah, Lt. Col. Steve Miska, Mahdi Army, mosque of Imam Kadhim, U.S. troops
