Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
USA Today
April 9, 2008
Pg. 6
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened Tuesday to formally end a seven-month cease-fire with the government unless authorities stop attacks on his followers in Baghdad.
Ending the cease-fire could trigger renewed fighting throughout southern Iraq, nine days after a deal brokered in Iran calmed the region.
Clashes in the capital continued as American and Iraqi soldiers stepped up the pressure against Shiite militants in their Sadr City stronghold of northeast Baghdad. U.S. troops fired missiles at three mortar positions, killing 12 militants, the American command said. Iraqi police and hospitals said 14 people were killed and 37 wounded.
Two more U.S. troops were killed in Baghdad fighting, the U.S. command announced. At least 12 American servicemembers have died in Iraq fighting since Sunday. Also Tuesday, rockets or mortar shells slammed into the U.S.-protected Green Zone, but the U.S. Embassy said there were no casualties.
The bloodshed served as reminders of Iraq's continuing instability five years after U.S. troops swept into Baghdad and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime on April 9, 2003.
The euphoria of victory soon dissipated — first from a Sunni insurgency, then Sunni-Shiite slaughter and now battles against Shiite militiamen.
As tension rose in Baghdad on the eve of the anniversary, the Iraqi military ordered vehicles off the streets from 5 a.m. today until midnight — a move that apparently is aimed at preventing Shiite gunmen from moving freely about the city.
The vehicle ban was imposed despite a decision by al-Sadr to call off a mass demonstration set for today to demand an end to the American military presence. Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia has been battling American and Iraqi soldiers in the sprawling Sadr City slum.
Fearing the demonstration might trigger violence throughout Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers began turning back military-age men traveling to the capital.
Al-Sadr then called off the rally.
His aides called a news conference at a hotel on Firdous Square, where U.S. Marines hauled down the statue of Saddam five years ago.
The aides released a statement condemning the government for allegedly bowing to "the hated American pressure."
"I call on the Iraqi government, if it exists, to work to protect the Iraqi people, stop the spilling of its blood and the abuse of its honor," al-Sadr said in the statement.
He also urged the government to "demand the withdrawal of the occupier or a schedule for its withdrawal from our holy land." Otherwise, al-Sadr said, he might end the cease-fire he imposed on his Mahdi militia last August.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, also a Shiite, has told al-Sadr to disband his militia or give up politics.
April 9, 2008
Pg. 6
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened Tuesday to formally end a seven-month cease-fire with the government unless authorities stop attacks on his followers in Baghdad.
Ending the cease-fire could trigger renewed fighting throughout southern Iraq, nine days after a deal brokered in Iran calmed the region.
Clashes in the capital continued as American and Iraqi soldiers stepped up the pressure against Shiite militants in their Sadr City stronghold of northeast Baghdad. U.S. troops fired missiles at three mortar positions, killing 12 militants, the American command said. Iraqi police and hospitals said 14 people were killed and 37 wounded.
Two more U.S. troops were killed in Baghdad fighting, the U.S. command announced. At least 12 American servicemembers have died in Iraq fighting since Sunday. Also Tuesday, rockets or mortar shells slammed into the U.S.-protected Green Zone, but the U.S. Embassy said there were no casualties.
The bloodshed served as reminders of Iraq's continuing instability five years after U.S. troops swept into Baghdad and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime on April 9, 2003.
The euphoria of victory soon dissipated — first from a Sunni insurgency, then Sunni-Shiite slaughter and now battles against Shiite militiamen.
As tension rose in Baghdad on the eve of the anniversary, the Iraqi military ordered vehicles off the streets from 5 a.m. today until midnight — a move that apparently is aimed at preventing Shiite gunmen from moving freely about the city.
The vehicle ban was imposed despite a decision by al-Sadr to call off a mass demonstration set for today to demand an end to the American military presence. Al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia has been battling American and Iraqi soldiers in the sprawling Sadr City slum.
Fearing the demonstration might trigger violence throughout Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers began turning back military-age men traveling to the capital.
Al-Sadr then called off the rally.
His aides called a news conference at a hotel on Firdous Square, where U.S. Marines hauled down the statue of Saddam five years ago.
The aides released a statement condemning the government for allegedly bowing to "the hated American pressure."
"I call on the Iraqi government, if it exists, to work to protect the Iraqi people, stop the spilling of its blood and the abuse of its honor," al-Sadr said in the statement.
He also urged the government to "demand the withdrawal of the occupier or a schedule for its withdrawal from our holy land." Otherwise, al-Sadr said, he might end the cease-fire he imposed on his Mahdi militia last August.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, also a Shiite, has told al-Sadr to disband his militia or give up politics.