Shiite Gunmen Seize Najaf Police Station

AP ^ | 6/10/04 | DANICA KIRKA

[TexKat]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Shiite gunmen seized a police station Thursday in Najaf in the first outbreak of fighting since an agreement to end weeks of bloody clashes between U.S. troops and militia forces. Four Iraqis were killed and 13 were injured, hospital and militia officials said.

Gunmen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took control of the Ghari police station just 250 yards from the Imam Ali Shrine, witness Mohammed Hussein said. The station was looted and police cars were burned.

"We sent a quick-reaction unit to assist the policemen defending the station, but they were overwhelmed by al-Sadr fighters," Najaf Gov. Adnan al-Zurufi said. "We will solve this problem as soon as possible. We will ask for the help of the Americans, if necessary."

U.S. forces were not involved in the clashes, and it was unclear whether the violence marked the end of the cease-fire in Najaf, mediated by Shiite leaders and al-Sadr's militia, or resulted from police attempts to crack down on petty crime in the city.

Police and witnesses said trouble started when authorities tried to arrest some suspected thieves at the bus station near the main police headquarters.

Masked attackers — possibly including militia members — responded with machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades near the headquarters building. One gunman was killed when police returned fire, and other fighters then attacked the building.

Fighting later moved to the second police station.

Al-Sadr spokesman Qais al-Khazali said he was trying to intervene and stop the violence.

"We are trying to convince them to stop shooting," al-Khazali said. "We are still committed to the truce."

Two of the four dead were al-Mahdi fighters, and several others were injured, al-Khazali said.

Last week, al-Sadr agreed to send his fighters home and pull back from the Islamic shrines in Najaf and its twin city of Kufa, handing over security to Iraqi police. The U.S. Army also agreed to stay away from the holy sites to give Iraqi security forces a chance to end the standoff.

The clashes illustrate the chaotic situation in Iraq ahead of the transfer of sovereignty in June.

One senior U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said coalition forces would not leave the streets immediately after June 30 but would phase out their presence as Iraqi security forces gradually take control.

In a sign of the ongoing threat, saboteurs blew up a key oil pipeline Wednesday, forcing a 10 percent cut on the national power grid as demand for electricity rises with the advent of Iraq's broiling summer heat.

The pipeline blast near Beiji, 150 miles north of Baghdad, was the latest in a series of attacks by insurgents against infrastructure targets, possibly to shake public confidence as a new Iraqi government prepares to take power June 30.

As world leaders applauded their newfound unity in passing a U.N. Security Council resolution on Iraqi sovereignty, Iraq's Kurdish leaders protested that the United States and Britain refused to include an endorsement of the interim constitution in the U.N. resolution.

The Kurds expressed fears they will be sidelined politically by the Shiite Arab majority, despite assurances from Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and others that the new government would stick by its commitments for communal rights.

U.N. diplomats said the decision was made to keep a reference to the interim constitution — the Transitional Administrative Law — out of the resolution to appease Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, who grudgingly accepted the charter when it was approved in March.

Barham Salih, 44, of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and an American favorite, announced Wednesday he would not accept the post of deputy prime minister for national security unless the powers were spelled out "appropriate to the position, sacrifice and important role of the Kurdish people," the PUK's KurdSat television reported.

Following U.N. Security Council approval of the Iraq resolution, President Bush suggested a wider role for NATO in Iraq. However, French President Jacques Chirac raised objections, and the proposal lacks universal support in the Western alliance, already tied down by heavy commitments in Afghanistan.

At the Group of Eight summit at Sea Island, Georgia, Chirac told reporters that, while he is "open to all discussion" on a NATO role, "I won't hide it from you that I don't think it is NATO's purpose to intervene in Iraq."

Chirac said NATO involvement "could only be envisaged" if the Iraqi government requested it.

[snopercod]

But wait, I thought all the militias had been disbanded.

[EQAndyBuzz]

The ones that haven't been disbanded have been outlawed. Al Sadr's militia is outlawed and should treated as such,.

[Gefreiter]

I think the media in general are doing a poor job of reporting from Iraq. And I'm not even talking about the built-in biases that come with "objective" journalism.

What I'm hearing from Iraq sounds a little like this:

"Iraqi police and internal security forces are taking over security in restive Iraqi cities. Except when they're not, or when they run away."

"Religious leaders opposed to Al-Sadr are still working toward the truce that was agreed to weeks ago. Fighting continues." (then it's NOT a truce, kids!)

"The plan to disband armed militias and fold them into political parties has garnered broad support, except where it hasn't."

"US forces have withdrawn to a security cordon near Najaf and Fallujah. But still operate in certain parts of the cities. And fight. Meanwhile, ICDC units still show up for payday."

My point is that I- we- count on the press to tell us what's going on. If you look back over days and weeks, and see the thread of ongoing stories, you'll find that no one in the press corps really has a grip on the story.

And it really really bugs me. Do they not care? Are they too scared to leave their fortified hotels? Lazy? What's the deal?

[sgtbono2002]

The need for electricity rises during the hot summer. They must have air conditioners there. I thought the French said the Iraqui's were no better off now than before. Well they have air conditioners and the French dont.

[Valin]

Remind me again why I'm supposed to care about the french?

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Danica at AP places great import on the word of....Jacques Chirac.

AP, investigate, and share with the world your reason for continuing to give Chirac credit as a moral authority, or a leader, please. How is the French economy? How is Chirac fighting the battle against Islamic extremists within his own borders? How does this national leader command his own military, and how much of a price is this leader of a mighty, free nation choosing to pay in the defense of the free world - as you know our military families pay daily for us, and for the freedom of France. AP, we're still waiting for the investigation into Chirac's business 'dealings' with Saddam, post-sanctions, which we learned took place very early on in the war.

Good news for alternative news sources (*sigh* one does need to question a reporter's loyalties during a war between good and evil - and to hold accountable those with the mighty pens who hype our enemy's strength while minimizing the strength of our far mightier good guys. < /rant>)

[TexKat]

A U.S Army soldier secures a building near a mural representing the map of Iraq, in Baghdad, June 10, 2004. Mainstream Shi'ite support is vital to the new Iraqi interim government, which has outlawed the Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who launched an anti-U.S. revolt in April. REUTERS/Ali Jasim

Members of the Iraqi security forces stand under the shade of a mural representing the map and flag of their country, in Baghdad, June 10, 2004. Mainstream Shi'ite support is vital to the new Iraqi interim government, which has outlawed the Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who launched an anti-U.S. revolt in April. REUTERS/Ali Jasim

[King Prout]

ok, so much for the "kid gloves" approach

[TheBattman]

"We are trying to convince them to stop shooting," al-Khazali said. "We are still committed to the truce

Sounds like Arafat and the Pali terrorists. "We are committed to peace" (but we will still attack you, and just write it off as extremists...)

[RobbyS]

Except for the imbedded reporters,most of those reporters are Arabs.

[TexKat]

Iraqi police patrol the streets of the holy city of Najaf June 10, 2004 after gun battles with militiamen. Five people were killed in fighting between Iraqi police and Shi'ite militia in Najaf on Thursday, the first clash there since U.S. forces and guerrillas agreed a truce last week, hospital sources said. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish

Members of Iraqi security force stand guard on a rooftop of a building in Baghdad, June 10, 2004. Mainstream Shi'ite support is vital to the new Iraqi interim government, which has outlawed the Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who launched an anti-U.S. revolt in April. REUTERS/Ali Jasim

Members of the Falluja Brigade await police forces to patrol the streets of Falluja, June 10, 2004. Iraq will need American and other foreign troops to fight guerrillas even after a U.S.-led occupation formally ends on June 30, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Wednesday. REUTERS/Mohammed Khodor

[Steve_Seattle]

Paging Harry Truman . . . we need your advice on dealing with a little problem.

[Steve_Seattle]

Those "Iraqi police" look pretty amateurish; if they turned their shirts inside-out, I wouldn't be surprised if they said "Sadr Brigade".