Posted on 05/12/2004 6:17:30 PM PDT by blam
20 of Sadr's Mahdi army die in battle at mosque
By Oliver Poole in Baghdad
(Filed: 13/05/2004)
Fighting raged in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala yesterday, partly destroying a mosque and leaving bodies scattered around the market, as American soldiers killed at least 20 gunmen loyal to the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The battle emphasised the determination of the US military to end a five-week Shia uprising.
Moqtada al-Sadr: 'America's presence in Iraq is not peace'
Hundreds of troops moved in just before dawn after members of Sadr's Mahdi army who were gathered around the Mukhaiyam mosque began to fire mortar rounds at the American force on the outskirts of the city.
Film from an embedded cameraman showed an armoured vehicle trying to knock down a wall and the streets were filled with smoke from a burning building.
It was reported that tank shells were fired, and aircraft attacked the area.
Witnesses said the bodies of 14 Iraqis lay in al-Jumhouriya Street and claimed that US snipers were firing at anyone who broke cover.
A building behind the mosque was fired on, detonating a substantial arms cache, and US soldiers stormed the shattered mosque, chasing the insurgents into a hotel and alley.
By daylight half the mosque - which is located a few hundred yards from two of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, the shrines of the martyrs Hussein and Abbas - had been destroyed and several hotels were on fire.
Previously American forces had kept out of Karbala and nearby Najaf, another holy city, after concerns that their presence could further inflame Iraqi fury, which is already outraged by the prisoner abuse photographs.
But it seems that in recent days negotiations with local tribal and religious leaders have convinced military leaders that many in the city would welcome efforts to evict Sadr's militiamen.
On Tuesday several hundred Iraqis marched in Najaf to demand Sadr's withdrawal and businessmen in both cities expressed frustration at the collapse of the local economy.
Whether the Americans have read the public mood correctly will be crucial in determining the impact of their strategy.
If a peaceful solution is not reached and US troops are seen as being heavy-handed, it could turn public opinion back Sadr's way. The coalition has made concessions.
On Tuesday, the American-appointed governor in Najaf suggested that US authorities were reconsidering their stated goal of "killing or capturing" Sadr. The US commander in the area said he was prepared to hand over security of the city to a locally raised security force that could include members of Sadr's Mahdi army.
Sadr said yesterday: "The dissolution of the Mahdi army depends on the religious authorities. If they issue an edict to disband then we will disband."
Seizing on the abuse scandal and foreign al-Qa'eda militants in Iraq, he lashed out at Americans.
"Their presence in Iraq is not peace and will lead to the spread of terrorism," he said. "Look at what your army has done at the behest of its leaders - torture of all kinds. Are those who came to remove Saddam becoming just the same as Saddam?"
Heroes takin' care of business... without apology to CBS.
Ever Notice How You Never See Mookie and Rosie In The Same Place at The Same Time?
First, we design inflatable mosques. Then, we air-drop them where the jihadis can infiltrate them....kinda like yellowjacket traps....
then we blow them to smithereens....cheap and effective.
Well, not too hobbled....
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