Posted on 09/21/2004 7:06:45 AM PDT by TexKat
NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - US marines arrested two close aides and several partisans of Moqtada Sadr in a predawn raid on the radical Shiite cleric's office in the central Iraqi city of Najaf, officials and witnesses told AFP.
"A group of US marines raided the office of Sayed Sadr at 2:00 am (2200 GMT Monday) and arrested Sheikh Ahmed al-Shaibani and Sayed Hosam al-Husseini and a number of other workers in the office," said Abu Sadeq al-Adhari, an official in Sadr's office.
The white-turbaned Shaibani is one of the most outspoken Sadr aides in the holy city of Najaf.
Iraqi police and security forces were seen blocking access to the office which is adjacent to the Imam Ali mausoleum in the heart of Najaf.
Police confirmed the raid and the arrests while residents said they heard a number of loud explosions during the night and saw US troops carrying light weapons and ammunition out of the office.
Another Sadr official, who managed to escape during the raid, said dozens of partisans of the cleric's Mehdi Army militia were arrested in the operation.
"They arrested many religious figures and security guards that were at the office," he said on condition of anonymity.
There was no immediate confirmation from marines based in Najaf but a senior US military official in Baghdad said he was looking into reports about the operation.
"We are in the process of conducting safety operations for the people of Najaf," added the official.
There was no immediate confirmation from Iraq's interior or defense ministries on the Najaf raid, which comes two days after the arrest of Sheikh Hazem al-Araji, Sadr's Baghdad lieutenant.
Last month, Sadr pulled his Mehdi Army militia out of Najaf and nearby Kufa on the order of Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
But his fighters have continued to clash with US troops in Baghdad. Forty people were killed in Sadr City on September 7.
Iraqi Shiites, carrying the picture of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, during a funeral for a man killed in Sadr City. US marines arrested two close aides and several partisans of Moqtada Sadr in a predawn raid on the radical Shiite cleric's office in the central Iraqi city of Najaf, officials and witnesses told AFP.(AFP/File /Ahmad Al-Rubaye)
Force them to eat bacon, cut off their heads and bury them in a pig blanket...
Now the MSM wants to call these terrorist "paritisan".
Why is it so difficult for them to call them what they are.
Seems to me police
should arrest people. Marines
should shoot people dead . . .
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Because it doesn't further their (MSM's) cause.
Where is Sistani in all of this?
Perhaps the Marines want the bad guys to be able to talk?
Just don't put panties on their head. The New York Slimes would just love more stories about that.
I blast my wind upon his beard!
I am curious how we keep catching his aids, but can't seem to grab al Sadr himself....
OF course, it would be far more expedient and efficient to just blow his sorry butt away....
Definitely a "shot while escaping" scenario here. What's wrong with our people???
LMAO
Supporters of radical Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, stay ready at a battle position in Sadr City, Iraq, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004. They put up several positions after bombs and missiles exploded overnight in the Baghdad slum. U.S. military said that U.S. warplanes launched missiles to destroy roadside bombs and mines strewn across the streets at night so as to avoid civilian casualties. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
It seems to me that if they can be photographed, they can be shot. Just the fact that they're armed and in a militaristic posture should be ample justification to take them out.
Why Sadr still breathes
Is for me most confusing
He should be in Hell
Really - can the situation get any more dangerous than it is? Just take this guy out! His assistants can be replaced. The world hates us anyway. Let's give 'em what they want.
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