Split Deepens Between Iraqi Shiites

Sides that clashed in Karbala seek to curb bloodshed

(NEWSER) - Two Shiite leaders made peace in Iraq today in hope of ending their bitter feud and curbing bloodshed, Reuters reports. Moqtada Al-Sadr and Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, leaders of parliament's main Shiite blocs, agreed to form committees and solve problems together around the country. Fighting between the factions has intensified this year in areas ignored by US forces. More»

Group favors a government more closely allied with Iran

(NEWSER) - Iraq’s major Shiite parties have formed a new coalition without Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki or his Dawa Party, they announced today. That means that unless Maliki finds new allies, he will likely lose his job following the January elections. If the new coalition wins a majority, he’ll be replaced by a leader with much closer ties to Iran, the Washington Post reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Iraq was rocked by two deadly, possibly destabilizing bombings this weekend, but the proof is in the reprisals, Larry Kaplow writes in Newsweek—and there were none. “Iraq today is a different place than it was when ethnic conflict threatened to engulf the country in 2006,” Kaplow continues. “The powder here is wetter than it once was.” And that’s due mostly to Shiite military power and restraint in the face of Sunni attacks. More»

Shiite PM teams with secular Sunnis and even militant cleric

(NEWSER) - The Shiite party of PM Nouri al-Maliki has allied itself with Sunni political figures and even Moqtada al-Sadr, a major departure from earlier politics that followed ethnic and sectarian lines. writes Anthony Shadid in the Washington Post. All support a strong central government and advocate a united Iraq over a federated state—and they may even run as a grand coalition in key parliamentary elections later this year. Six weeks after provincial elections, "there is a new political map," said one Sunni who advises Maliki. More»

Mahdi Army leader, 'worried' for Iraqis' safety, cancels anti-US protest

(NEWSER) - Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr today threatened to end the cease-fire he imposed last year on his Mahdi militia, CNN reports, and called off a massive protest set for tomorrow, the fifth anniversary of the end of Saddam Hussein’s rule. Hundreds had converged on Baghdad—despite orders to keep young men out—before Sadr called off the event. More»