1 million evacuated from holy city
Los Angeles Times Aug 29, 07 7:14 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A million pilgrims were ordered to evacuate the holy city of Karbala yesterday as Shiite militias fought each other for control of southern Iraq, killing 51 people. Another 200 were injured in chaos after gunmen loyal to anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr fired on members of the Badr Organization, the armed faction of the Supreme Islamic Council. Snipers also fired on security forces, the LA Times reports.
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Top provincial official slain in his SUV, police blame Mahdi Army
Associated Press Aug 20, 07 9:12 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The governor of Muthanna province was killed by a roadside bomb today—a little more than a week after another Iraqi governor was assassinated. Mohammed Ali al-Hassani's SUV was struck en route to his office in the morning. Police are blaming Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, which has clashed with the the rival Shiite party to which both governors belonged.
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Women and children may counted among the dead
BBC Aug 8, 07 5:21 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The US killed 30 militants and detained another dozen in an overnight air strike on a military stronghold in a Shiite district of Baghdad. Witnesses counted women and children among the slain, though the US claims all 30 were insurgents linked to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
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Defection deepens political crisis as suicide bombs kill 70
Reuters Aug 1, 07 3:01 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Sunni Accordance Front defected from Iraq's government today, accusing PM Nuri al-Maliki of being uncooperative, Reuters reports, on a day when suicide bombs killed more than 70 in Baghdad. "This is probably the most serious political crisis we have faced since the passage of the constitution,'' a deputy PM said of the troubled government.
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Sunni, Shia and Kurds still at odds; White House benchmark not being met
Associated Press Jul 5, 07 5:47 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Bitter infighting among Iraq's ethnic and religious groups is holding up crucial legislation on Iraqi oil regulation and distribution, the AP reports. Despite heavy pressure from Washington to pass the bill, debate scheduled to start yesterday was delayed. Sunnis object to the bill because they fear most oil wealth will go to Kurds and Shia, while the Kurds are resisting concessions to the Sunnis.
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US arrests Hezbollah go-between in
Iraq; cites training camps in Iran
Associated Press Jul 2, 07 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The US military has accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard of aiding Iraqi militants in a devastating January attack and of using Hezbollah as a go-between to arm violent Shiites in that country. In March coalition forces arrested a Hezbollah operative suspected of liaising between Iran and a group led by a former Moqtada al-Sadr deputy, the AP reports.
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Suspected al-Qaeda strike at Askariya shrine whose bombing last year touched off sectarian violence
Associated Press Jun 13, 07 7:49 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Askariya mosque, a Shiite shrine whose bombing ignited sectarian violence last year, was attacked again this morning, destroying the minarets left standing after its Golden Dome was shattered earlier. Iraq now braces for a bloody response; US troops rushed to Samarra, and a curfew was called on group gatherings and auto traffic, the AP reports.
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Envisions 40K force
to stay for years;
big withdrawal by
early 2009
Washington Post Jun 10, 07 12:17 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Top military officials are quietly setting their post-pullout strategy, reports Thomas Ricks in today's Post , and they're readying to keep in place a long-term, mid-size force. The new plan requires upwards of 40,000 American troops to stay in the country, with half dedicated to security, a quarter to training, and another quarter to logistics, in addition to a small special ops counterterrorism force.
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Brits suspect kidnappers connected to Iran; search in Sadr City continues
Guardian (UK) Jun 1, 07 8:37 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Britain may ask Iran for help in finding the five British hostages kidnapped in Iraq. Senior Iraqi officials think a rogue faction of the Mahdi Army—possibly under the influence of Iranian intelligence —is responsible for the kidnappings. British sources tell the Guardian they believe the kidnapping was not ordered by Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
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Shiite firebrand returns from Iran, invites Sunnis to join in opposing US
Associated Press May 25, 07 8:22 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr emerged from hiding today, making a surprise appearance near the Iraqi city of Najaf. Al-Sadr, who fled to Iran four months ago, gave a sermon at Kufa today, condemning the US occupation and demanding a "timetable" for withdrawal. In a shift away from sectarianism, he encouraged Sunnis to join in peaceful opposition to the occupation.
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Switch in tactics aims
at hastening US withdrawal
Washington Post May 20, 07 3:14 PM CDT
(Newser)
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In a dramatic shift in tacttics, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is reaching out to rival Sunni leaders in Iraq, and purging radical elements of his own militia, the Washington Post reports. With Sunni insurgents making moves to distance themselves from al-Qaeda, Sadr sees an opportunity for a cross-sectarian political alliance, aides tell the Post .
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What's worse than Moqtada al-Sadr?
The Mahdi Army ignoring him
Newsweek May 2, 07 1:58 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The Madhi Army is letting loose. Officially locked down by leader Moqtada al-Sadr during the troop surge, renegade Mahdis are unleashing a wave of random violence on once-peaceful areas of central and southern Iraq, Newseek reports. That worries even al-Sadr's commanders, who are now seeking U.S. help to control their wayward acolytes.
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Los Angeles Times Apr 16, 07 1:33 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Six cabinet members loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have made good on their threat to resign from the Iraqi parliament, after the Prime Minister refused to set a date for the Americans to leave. But they insist—in spite of a spate of violence yesterday and today that many blame on Sadr's Madhi Army—that the move is intended to strengthen the government.
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Pressures prime minister to push for U.S. withdrawal
Washington Post Apr 16, 07 6:31 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Six Iraqi cabinet ministers are expected to resign today on orders from Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. "We are going to declare our withdrawal from government because the prime minister does not want to make a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq," a Sadr official told the Guardian .
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