20 killed as Shiite fighters, US forces clash in Baghdad

AFP ^ | April 6, 2008 59 minutes ago | AFP

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Fierce clashes between Shiite gunmen and US forces in the Iraqi capital's Sadr City district killed at least 20 people on Sunday, amid calls from Iraqi leaders for all militias to be disbanded.

In northern Iraq, meanwhile, Iraqi security forces freed 42 university students who had been kidnapped by gunmen, a local army commander said.

Security and defence ministry officials said women and children were among the 20 dead and 52 wounded in the Sadr City clashes that erupted at around midnight and continued sporadically throughout the day.

The US military said it launched two air strikes in Sadr City at around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) in which nine "criminals" were killed.

An "air weapons team" (AWT) fired a Hellfire missile and killed three fighters who were "firing rocket-propelled grenades at Iraqi soldiers," said US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steve Stover.

"The team identified four more criminals fleeing the scene and attempting to hide their weapons in a vehicle. The AWT fired a missile and destroyed the vehicle and killed the six criminals," he said in a statement.

In the afternoon, Jamila food market, one of the biggest in Iraq and located in Sadr City, was set ablaze during a firefight, sending thick black smoke billowing skywards.

Local resident Wessam Jaffar said the market caught fire after a nearby joint Iraqi-US outpost came under mortar and gunfire attack.

Stover blamed "criminal elements" whom he said attacked the market with 107mm missiles "while it was packed with shoppers."

He said the US military has deployed Bradley and Abrams tanks as well as Stryker armoured troop carriers in Sadr City in operations designed to "take away mortar and rocket sites."

He said "criminals" were firing mortars and rockets from the area into Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, seat of the Iraqi government and the US embassy.

The clashes come just days before a protest on April 9 in Sadr City called by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr against the presence of US forces in Iraq.

It coincides with the fifth anniversary of the toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein's regime, and Sadr's office says it expects at least one million people to attend.

Shiite fighters, mostly from Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, have been clashing with security forces since March 25 after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on militiamen in the southern city of Basra.

The military assaults triggered firefights across Shiite areas of Iraq, including Sadr City, that killed at least 700 people, according to the United Nations.

Iraq's political leaders, meanwhile, urged the disbanding of militias throughout the country in a move seen as pressuring Sadr to rein in his fighters ahead of provincial elections on October 1.

Members of the top-level Political Council of National Security met at President Jalal Talabani's office on Saturday and framed a 15-point statement aimed at disarming the militias, most of them aligned to political parties.

The council comprises the president, the prime minister and the heads of the various political blocs.

"The militias should be integrated into civilian activities as a condition for participating in the political process and the next elections," Talabani's office said in a statement.

Sadr boasts Iraq's most powerful militia with an estimated 60,000 fighters.

Observers say that with the local elections to be held in Iraq's 18 provinces, Maliki was under pressure to rein in the militias, especially in Basra where rival Shiite factions are engaged in an intense turf war.

Also on Sunday, Iraq's security forces freed 42 university students hours after they were kidnapped by gunmen near the northern city of Mosul, local army commander Brigadier General Khalid Abul Sattar told AFP.

The students were kidnapped when gunmen ambushed two buses taking them to Mosul from their homes in Shurkat, 70 kilometres (40 miles) south of the country's main northern city. Security forces freed them several hours later.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

fyi

[hinckley buzzard]

US military has deployed Bradley and Abrams tanks as well as Stryker armoured troop carriers in Sadr City

High time our military went through Sadr City with a stiff rake, a la Fallujah Two. This sh*t needs to cease.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

From Al-Jazeera:

Many dead in Baghdad fighting

Many dead in Baghdad fighting

Mahdi Army fighters waged gun battles with Iraqi and US security forces in Sadr City on Sunday [GETTY]

Clashes in Sadr City, a Shia district of Baghdad, that began overnight have left up to 22 people dead and 55 others wounded, Iraqi police say.

 

The deaths occurred in the Iraqi capital on Sunday, just hours after the government relaxed security measures around Sadr City and Shula, both strongholds of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

Officials at two local hospitals said women and children were among the dead.

 

An Iraqi police officer said sporadic exchanges of fire occurred through Sunday morning.

 

He said two armoured Humvee vehicles belonging to the Iraqi army were hit and a US Stryker armoured personnel carrier damaged.

'Criminals killed'

 

The US military did not confirm the Stryker-damage claim, but said that fighting had broken out overnight between fighters and Iraqi security units supported by US forces.

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US forces carried out an air strike in Sadr City that killed "nine criminals", a US military statement said.

Nasser al-Rubaei, the head of al-Sadr's bloc in Iraq's parliament, told of "joint Iraqi and US attacks against Sadr City".

"We as the Sadr movement back the security forces," he said.

"But we reject that Iraqi forces be used as a shield for the occupation forces."

Sadr City conditions

In an effort to ease conditions for Sadr City's 2.5 million residents, the government has allowed lorries carrying maintenance teams, food, oil products and ambulances into the area.

A vehicle ban remains in effect as part of a curfew imposed on Baghdad after fighting broke out between government forces and Mahdi Army fighters on March 25.

The curfew has been lifted in the rest of Baghdad.

Al-Sadr has called for a protest on April 9 in Sadr City against the presence of US forces in Iraq.

His office said it expects at least one million people to turn out for the protest.

Mosul kidnapping

In northern Iraq, meanwhile, Iraq's security forces freed 42 university students who had been kidnapped by armed men on Sunday, a local army commander said.

Brigadier-General Khalif Abdul-Sattar said the students were waylaid about 30km south of Mosul on the main highway to Baghdad.

Three other students on a second bus were injured when armed men opened fire as the driver managed to speed away, he said.

It was not immediately clear where the students were coming from or where they were going.

Squeeze on Sadr

Sunday's clashes in Baghdad formed a violent backdrop to political efforts to isolated the Mahdi Army.

All the major Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties have closed ranks to pressure al-Sadr into disbanding the Mahdi Army or be barred from political life, according to legislators and officials involved in the effort.

Amid clashes in Baghdad, al-Sadr's bloc faces
growing pressure to disarm its militia [GETTY]

They said a first step would be to add language to a draft election bill banning parties that operate militias from fielding candidates in provincial balloting this autumn.

"We want the Sadrists to disband the Mahdi Army. Just freezing it is no longer acceptable," Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, said.

Members of the powerful Political Council of National Security met at the office of Jalal Talabani, Iraq's president, on Saturday and framed a 15-point statement aimed at disarming the militias, most of them aligned to political parties.

'Isolation clear'

Hassan al-Rubaie, an al-Sadr loyalist, said on Sunday that "our political isolation was very clear and real" during the meeting.

"We, the Sadrists, are in a predicament," he said.

"Even the blocs that had in the past supported us are now against us and we cannot stop them from taking action against us in parliament."

Al-Sadr controls 30 of the 275 parliament seats, a substantial figure but not enough to block legislation.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And from the leftists

Sadr City assault strains cease-fire

************************************EXCERPT*************************

A week after a truce calmed clashes between Moqtada al-Sadr's militia and Iraqi forces, fighting resumed in his Baghdad stronghold Sunday.

BAGHDAD - Sadr City, the capital's teeming Shiite district where Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army is entrenched, erupted in violence again Sunday, one week after a truce ended battles pitting Mr. Sadr's militia against US and Iraqi troops.

Although sporadic clashes continued between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi forces even after the cease-fire deal, Sunday's flare-up has been the worst and threatens to undo the lull in fighting in the capital and in the southern oil city of Basra.

Police sources cited by Reuters said that at least 22 people were killed and 55 wounded in the battle that started overnight. Although it's unclear what started this latest round in fighting with the Mahdi Army, the US military said it killed nine "criminals" in an assault by one of its helicopters in Sadr City.

The mortar fire on the Green Zone – a constant during the height of fighting with the Mahdi Army – also resumed Sunday.

Inside the vast Shiite slum, home to roughly 2.5 million people, the situation is increasingly tense as the area's squares and apartment blocks are destroyed by Iraqi or American strikes, its streets used as Mahdi Army positions, and its residents increasingly caught in the middle of this fight.

On a visit Sunday during the fighting, this reporter witnessed the devastating toll on a district that remains besieged by US and Iraqi forces.

On Sunday, a convoy of US Abrams tanks and Bradley and Stryker combat vehicles patrolled at the entrance of Sadr City as dozens of Iraqi soldiers took positions on balconies.

Once inside the district, people shouted, "Quick, run into the alleyways."

Two artillery shells hit nearby, probably fired from the US tanks. Dust and smoke rose in the distance. A newly issued Iraqi Army Humvee emblazoned with the Iraqi flag was on fire farther down the road.

One of the teenagers milling around said: "This belongs to the dirty bunch."

Deeper into Sadr City, it was militia territory. Young militants were everywhere. They carried sniper rifles, machine guns, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They were on street corners and rooftops ready to fend off any advance by US and Iraqi forces.

"Watch the [US] airplanes … they are killing civilians and civilians are everywhere," shouted a fighter dressed in military fatigues.

Every now and then, a civilian shouted: "Raise your hands in the air so they do not shoot at us."

[NormsRevenge]

HeLLFiRe!!!

WHOO HOO!!!

[jazusamo]

Good news! I think the Shiite’s are soon going to lose the will to fight.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

And from LWJ:

US, Iraqi Army clash with Mahdi Army in Sadr City

*******************************EXCERPT**************************

By Bill RoggioApril 6, 2008 2:13 PM

Fighting between the Coalition and Madhi Army fighters broke out today as operations against the Mahdi Army and the Special Groups continue despite Prime Minister Maliki's call for a halt in operations. Early reports indicate between nine and 20 Iraqis were killed during clashes in Sadr City at the 55 intersection and Falah Street. Abdellatif Rayan, a media adviser to Multinational Forces Iraq said a US Army helicopter killed nine "criminals" in Sadr City. "We do have reports of an air weapons team engagement, a US helicopter, where nine criminals were killed at around 8:00 AM," Rayan told Voices of Iraq.

The US military has confirmed several clashes today in Sadr City. "Today, while Iraqi Army Soldiers were moving through those areas they were engaged by armed criminals with [rocket propelled grenades] and [small arms fire]," Lieutenant Colonel Steve Stover, the Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Division Baghdad told The Long War Journal. "US troops moved in to assist and that did include Bradleys and Abrams Tanks as well as Strykers." US and Iraqi Army forces kicked off operations to clear the southern sector of Sadr City in Jamilla and Thawra I on March 25.

US helicopters killed nine Special Groups "criminals" after they attacked the Iraqi soldiers at 8 AM local time. "An air weapons team [AWT] fired a Hellfire missile and killed three criminals after they were observed firing rocket-propelled grenades at the Iraqi Army soldiers," Stover said. "The team identified four more criminals fleeing the scene and attempting to hide weapons in a vehicle. The AWT fired a missile and destroyed the vehicle and killed the six criminals." No US or Iraqi Army casualties were reported, and the US military

Later that day, a Special Groups mortar team launched 107mm missiles at the Jamilla Market in Sadr City. No casualties were reported. "The market was packed with shoppers at the time of the attack, which is in the vicinity of Joint Security Station Tharwa II," Stover said.

Today's fighting in Sadr City follows a clash on Saturday after Mahdi Army fighters attacked an Iraqi Army unit conducting a humanitarian mission with rocket propelled grenades and small arms. "Iraqi Army soldiers were handing out water and food to local residents when the attack from criminals occurred," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. "Two innocent civilians were wounded in the attack."

Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army is said to be preparing to fight US and Iraqi forces, according to a report in The Washington Times. Mahdi Army fighters are "positioning explosives to defend the major routes into Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood in anticipation of a major battle with U.S. and Iraqi government forces," according to reports from Sadr City residents. "Iraqis also said families in Sadr City and other Shi'ite areas of Baghdad are stocking up on food, fearing new fighting that will leave them unable to get to the markets."

Iraqi soldiers and police continue to conduct operations in Basrah. On March 5, a Coalition aircraft killed an "armed criminal" after Iraqi forces came under fire in the Haiyaniyah district in the southern city. On April 4, Iraqi soldiers distributed humanitarian aid in the Haiyaniyah district. US and British forces are preparing to reinforce the Iraqi units in Basrah. More than 150 British advisers have embedded with Iraqi Army units operating in the city.

The operations in Sadr City throughout central and southern Iraq occur even as Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has stated he was halting offensive actions against militias to allow them time to lay down their weapons. Today, the civilian spokesman said that operations would continue, but that no political bloc was being targeted. "Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has reiterated the need to continue military operations by government forces to impose law and order, and that this security campaign did not target any certain political bloc," Sheikh Tahseen al Shikhli said in a press conference Sunday. "The government would fight all groups carrying arms and causing unrest and fomenting violence on the Iraqi streets."

For more information on the Basrah offensive, see A look at Operation Knights' Assault. For more information on the Mahdi Army, see Sadr calls for Mahdi Army cease-fire and Dividing the Mahdi Army.

Find related articles: Iraq

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Good news! I think the Shiite’s are soon going to lose the will to fight.

The surrendercrats in Washington are deeply concerned about that...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Separate thread for the report from Roggio:

US, Iraqi Army clash with Mahdi Army in Sadr City

[Red Steel]

Good news! I think the Shiite’s are soon going to lose the will to fight.

Yes, once you knock the snot out of them.

[UCANSEE2]

“Officials at two local hospitals said women and children were among the dead.”

Others pointed out that the women and children were strapped to the front of the terrorists as shields.

[melt]

"Yes, once you knock the snot out of them."

[Marine_Uncle]

"All the major Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties have closed ranks to pressure al-Sadr into disbanding the Mahdi Army or be barred from political life, according to legislators and officials involved in the effort."
"They said a first step would be to add language to a draft election bill banning parties that operate militias from fielding candidates in provincial balloting this autumn."
"We want the Sadrists to disband the Mahdi Army. Just freezing it is no longer acceptable," Sadiq al-Rikabi, a senior adviser to Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, said."
Assoooh! The light bulb has finally lit.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ernest.

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[denydenydeny]

All the major Shia, Sunni and Kurdish parties have closed ranks to pressure al-Sadr into disbanding the Mahdi Army or be barred from political life, according to legislators and officials involved in the effort.

Sounds like political reconciliation to me.

[amom]

.