Warrant Issued for Radical Shiite Cleric
By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi judge has issued a murder arrest warrant for a radical Shiite Muslim cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, for the slaying of another Shiite leader shortly after the U.S.-led invasion of the country, coalition officials said Monday.
Meanwhile, U.S. troops on Monday sealed off the city of Fallujah west of Baghdad, where some 1,200 Marines and two battalions of Iraqi security forces were poised to launch an operation aimed at pacifying the city, one of the most violent places in the Sunni Triangle.
Explosions and gunfire could be heard coming from the center of the city. Streets on the outskirts were largely deserted.
The announcement of the warrant came a day after violent clashes between militiamen loyal to al-Sadr that killed 52 Iraqis, eight U.S. soldiers and a Salvadoran soldier — some of the worst gunbattles since the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
President Bush said he was committed to the June 30 deadline for transferring power in Iraq and won't be deterred by violence and an armed Shiite revolt against the U.S.-led occupation. "The deadline remains firm," Bush said.
Bush also criticized al-Sadr as "one person that is deciding that rather than allowing democracy to flourish, he's going to exercise force. We just can't let it stand."
Coalition spokesman Dan Senor, who announced the warrant, would not say when al-Sadr would be detained. "There'll be no advance warning," he said.
Since the violence, al-Sadr has been holed up in a mosque in the city of Kufa, south of Baghdad, surrounded by armed supporters.
The arrest warrant had been issued several months ago, Senor said, refusing to say why al-Sadr had not been arrested earlier or why its existence was only announced Monday, one day after the al-Sadr-inspired violence.
Al-Sadr is accused in the slaying of Abdel-Majid al-Khoei, a rival Shiite cleric who was stabbed to death by a mob at a Shiite shrine in the city of Najaf in April 2003.
A total of 25 arrest warrants have been issued in the case, and 13 suspects have been taken into custody. Sunday's violence in Baghdad and other cities was sparked by the arrest last week of Mustafa al-Yacoubi, a senior aide to al-Sadr, on one of the warrants.
L. Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq, declared al-Sadr an "outlaw" who threatens Iraq's security.
The fiercest battle took place Sunday in Sadr City, Baghdad's largest Shiite neighborhood, where black-garbed Shiite militiamen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr fired from rooftops and behind buildings at U.S. troops, killing the eight Americans. At least 30 Iraqis were killed and more than 110 wounded, doctors said.
Violence broke out Monday in another Shiite neighborhood of the capital, al-Shoala, where members of al-Sadr's "Al-Mahdi Army" militia clashed with a U.S. patrol. An American armored vehicle was seen burning and a U.S. helicopter hovered overhead.
Militiamen also clashed with British troops in two southern cities, and three Iraqis were killed, witnesses said, while in several cities al-Sadr followers held sit-in protests, controlled the streets and held police stations.
A Marine was killed Monday in the Fallujah area, the military said, without providing further details. The death — along with killings of U.S. soldiers in two northern cities and in Sunday's violence — brought the U.S. death toll in Iraq to at least 613 since the war on Iraq began a year ago.
U.S. commanders have been vowing a massive response after insurgents killed four American security contractors in the city, west of Baghdad, on Wednesday. Residents dragged the Americans' bodies through the streets, hanging two charred corpses from a bridge in horrifying scenes that showed the depth of anti-U.S. sentiment in the city.
The insurgency that has plagued U.S. troops in Iraq for months has been led by Sunni Muslims. But Sunday's clashes in Baghdad and three other cities threatened to open a dangerous new front: a confrontation with Iraq's powerful Shiite Muslim majority, which has until now largely avoided violence with the Americans.
Al-Sadr fiercely opposes the U.S. occupation, but he has not had widespread support among Shiites, who see him as too young, too radical and too inexperienced to lead.
The large protests Sunday in Baghdad, Najaf, Nasiriyah and Amarah — sparked by the arrest of an aide to al-Sadr — were a show of force by his militia. But U.S. officials said they believe his appeal among the Shiite public remained limited.
The al-Mahdi Army was out in force Monday in several southern Iraqi cities. In Basra, Shiites who seized the governor's office traded fire with British troops. One Iraqi was killed, al-Sadr's office in the city said.
In the nearby city of Amarah, militiamen marched in the streets, clashing with British troops near the governor's office. Two Iraqis were killed in the exchange of the fire, witnesses said.
Gunmen also held sway in the holy city of Najaf, prompting police to flee their stations, said the Spanish Defense Ministry, whose troops control the region. Witnesses said the police returned later.
The Spanish bases in Diwaniya and Najaf came under sporadic mortar fire overnight but there were no injuries or material damage, the ministry said.
Al-Sadr's main support is among young seminary students and many impoverished Shiites, devoted to him because of his anti-U.S. stance and the memory of his father, a Shiite religious leader gunned down by suspected Saddam agents in 1999.
Al-Sadr has demanded an immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, but the cleric's political program has often been unclear. He has repeatedly said that he does not seek political power, but wants an "honest and responsible" government.
The latest violence suggests that al-Sadr wants to raise the profile of his movement at a time when other ethnic and religious groups in Iraq are jockeying for position ahead of the transfer of power to Iraqis.
Sunday evening, U.S. troops moved into Sadr City — named after Muqtada's father — after militiamen ambushed a U.S. patrol in the neighborhood, said Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the Army's 1st Armored Division.
More troops streamed in — up to 1,000 at one point — fighting sporadic gunbattles with more than 500 militiamen, Dempsey said. The fighting ended after a column of tanks moved in.
During the fighting, police evacuated three stations, which Mahdi Army militiamen then seized, U.S. officials said. They were later forced out by U.S. troops, they added.
Monday morning, U.S. tanks were parked in one of the neighborhood's main markets. Many stalls in the market were burned out, and buildings were pockmarked with bullet holes.
The other main fighting Sunday came outside Najaf, where militiamen opened fire on the base of Spanish troops, sparking a battle that lasted several hours. A Salvadoran soldier and 22 Iraqis were killed, Spanish and Iraqi officials said.
Al-Sadr supporters also were angered by the closure of his weekly newspaper by U.S. officials, who accused it of inciting violence.
In other developments:
_ U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met with members of Iraq's Governing Council as he launched a mission to help in the transition to an interim government after sovereignty is handed back to Iraqis on June 30.
_ A suicide attacker detonated a bomb-laden vehicle as he tried to enter a U.S. base in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing one U.S. soldier and wounding six Americans and six Iraqis, the military said. A roadside bomb, meanwhile, killed a U.S. soldier in the city of Mosul.