Free Republic

A radicalised current of Sunni Islam is emerging in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, as the community which ruled for decades watches the long-oppressed Shiites assert their will by virtue of sheer numbers. Most fight the Americans in the name of Saddam Hussein, but some have picked up arms as an assertion of their Sunni identity, in anger over the US designs to radically alter their world with plans for Western-style democracy. "The battle against the occupation and the wicked is an obligation of Islam," a senior cleric said in the town of Fallujah, which for many has become a symbol of...

First Published 2003-05-10, Last Updated 2003-05-10 16:05:04Dammam is the capital of the oil-rich Eastern province    Saudi authorities launch investigation into arson attacks on three Shiite mosques on Tarut island. RIYADH - Authorities in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province have launched an investigation into what appear to have been arson attacks on three mosques for the Shiite Muslim minority a few days ago, residents said Saturday. Unidentified assailants set small fires in three mosques on Tuesday and Wednesday on the Tarut Island in the Gulf, 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Dammam, the capital of the oil-rich province, they said. The motives...

<p>Saddam Hussein's last remaining loyalists are using a trick they employed in the war by mingling with civilian crowds and firing on American forces trying to stabilize Iraq, U.S. military officials say.</p> <p>Since the fall of Baghdad on April 9, the tactic has been used sporadically, mostly in Sunni Muslim-dominated towns such as Kut, Mosul and Fallujah west of the capital.</p>

Iraqi Sunnis warn of holy war if US troops stay on BAGHDAD: Hundreds of worshippers at a leading Sunni mosque in Baghdad on Friday denounced the American occupation of Iraq and vowed to launch a holy war if the troops did not withdraw soon. “We are running out of patience with the Americans here,” said Ammar al-Azami after prayers at the Abu Hanifa mosque, long a stronghold of loyalists to the ousted Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. “The Americans won’t leave because they are after our oil, water and land. They also want to settle here to protect Israel,” he said....