Posted on 01/23/2007 3:50:54 AM PST by Jedi Master Pikachu
Another take.
600 Sadr Fighters Captured in Iraq
23/01/2007
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi and US forces have captured more than 600 fighters loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the US military has said, after a day of carnage that left 100 dead in a string of bombings in and around Baghdad.
In a major crackdown launched in the past few weeks against the Mahdi Army -- the militia headed by Sadr and considered the biggest security threat to Iraq by the Pentagon -- more than 600 fighters and 16 militia leaders have been detained, the military said Tuesday.
"There are currently over 600 illegal Jaish al-Mahdi (JAM) militia in detention awaiting prosecution from the government of Iraq," a statement said.
It said Iraqi and US forces had also detained 16 high-level militiamen and killed one commander in a series of operations against the Mahdi Army, known for its fiercely anti-American stance.
"The detainees are responsible for attacks against the government of Iraq, Iraqi citizens and coalition forces," the military said.
Combined Iraqi and US forces have carried out 52 operations in the past 45 days focused on the Mahdi Army as well as 42 operations targeting Sunni extremists, it said.
The operations against the Sunni extremists resulted in the capture of 33 cell leaders in Baghdad, the statement said, charging that the detainees were mainly involved in facilitating foreign fighters entry into Iraq.
The US military has accused the Mahdi Army, which is believed to have up to 60,000 fighters, of being heavily involved in sectarian killing of Sunni Arabs in Baghdad and other regions of the country.
The latest quarterly Pentagon report released last month said Sadr's milita was the largest threat to security and "has replaced Al-Qaeda in Iraq as the most dangerous accelerant of potentially self-sustaining sectarian violence in Iraq."
US and Iraqi forces aim to take down these fighters as part of a new Baghdad security plan announced by US President George W. Bush earlier this month to crush the sectarian fighting that killed tens of thousands last year.
On Friday, security forces had announced capturing a top Sadr aide, Sheikh Abdul Hadi al-Darraji, a spokesman for the group in Baghdad, in a raid on a religious site in the Shiite slum district of Sadr City.
Before joining Iraq's political process, Sadr led two bloody rebellions against US forces in April and August 2004, a year after the US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
The Mahdi fighters suffered heavy casualties in the battles fought in the Shiite holy city of Najaf after which Sadr joined Iraq's political process and has now emerged powerful in the newly empowered Shiite-led government.
He commands a group of 32 MPs in the parliament and six ministers in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's embattled cabinet.
But fearing a sustained US planned assault, his political group on Sunday ended their nearly two-month long boycott of the government.
A source close to Sadr movement told AFP Monday that the group had been told not to "confront the Americans."
Insurgent attacks continued in Iraq Tuesday with eight more people killed, including five policemen in the northern city of Mosul.
Monday was the deadliest day in the country this year.
At least 100 people died, including 88 who were blown up in twin car bombings in a market in an impoverished district of Baghdad that has been the frequent target of attack.
To rein in the growing insurgent attacks and the sectarian militias the US military has begun deploying more troops in Baghdad, a plan mocked by Al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
"In his latest speech, Bush said in his ramblings that he would send 20,000 of his soldiers to Iraq. I ask him: why send only 20,000 soldiers? Why don't you send 50,000 or 100,000?" Zawahiri said an online video message.
"Don't you know that the dogs of Iraq are impatient to devour the carcasses of your soldiers?
"On the contrary, you must send your entire army to be annihilated at the hands of the mujahedin so that the whole world will be rid of your wickedness."
The Al-Qaeda-led Sunni insurgency has inflicted heavy casualties on US forces in Iraq.
Two more US soldiers were reported dead Tuesday, taking total deaths this month to 49 and the military's losses since the 2003 invasion to 3,055.
A good start
I couldn't possibly agree more.
Oh yeahhhhh! Ooorahhhh! Get some! What will the libs say now? I thought we couldnt win in Iraq?
Semoer Fi'
Jarhead
Body count doesn't matter as long as enemy morale remains high.
As long as the Bush Admin continues to enable the notion that America can be beaten via political correctness and opinion polls, the bodies will keep coming. Bush has not demonstrated the will to break the enemy's spirit.
The will of suicide bombers will never be broken. You need to kill them. As for the insurgents, many tribes in Iraq have turned on them when they previously gave tacit support.
We have exactly the right strategy in Iraq. It is same as it is in Afghanistan. Create allied states where there was once enemy state. The more that jihadis from the muslim world flock to Iraq and Afgh. to die, the better.
I agree that killing them is a good thing.
But how about stopping them at the source (Iran, Syria) and not their destination? (Bahgdad, Al Anbar?)
Bush has undermined US credibility by not living up to his own words regarding nations supporting and harboring terrorists.
What message does that telegraph?
Let's see, we toppled two countries rather quickly and installed allied governments. Afghanistan, the land where empires fail and the center of the ME, known as Iraq. It is not a fast thing to produce functional constitution based governments in lands that have not had such.....ever. It will be another 10 years before they are stable enough for us to leave completely. In the meantime, we are standing up their armies to do the job themselves.
My prediction is this, if the mullacracy in Iran does not crumble form internal pressure that Bush will confront them as well, particularly if they keep up the nuclear charades.
You are letting you dislike for Bush color your analysis of what we have already accomplished. And there is more to come.
You just want the Kurds to have their whey with them.
That is brilliant! A little cheesey, but brilliant.
You just want the Kurds to have their whey with them.
That is brilliant! A little cheesey, but brilliant.
Sheesh. Why are we suddenly, and FINALLY starting to clean house over there?
How will the mad dog MSM play it?.
Which one? The first one didn't go too well,did it?
Nice. Resorting to personal attacks?
Nice. Resorting to personal attacks?
What? You were the one who was originally complaining that the politicians were telling the military what to do.
I was simply pointing out in response that it was you who was telling the generals what to do.
You avoid the irony by falsely accusing me.
My response was appropriate -- your accusation wasn't.
Nice.
51 responses, and none of you could answer that the State of the Union was at 9:00 pm, EST?
What becomes of them? Are they simply rounded up and held...or are they executed?
Sorry.
I watched the NHL All Stars Skills Competition.
FOX News replayed it at 3 AM though.
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