U.S. and Iraqi Forces Clash With Shiite Militia, Killing at Least 17 ~ SADR Militia

Just keeping track of the spin from the MSM....

This Sadr creep needs a new bunghole right in the middle of his forehead.

L

Deeper in the article:

********************************

American military officials could not provide many details tonight about the operation. A short military news release said that Iraqi special forces, advised by American special forces, conducted a raid to "disrupt a terrorist cell" and that 16 insurgents were killed and 15 suspects captured.

The news release said "no mosques were entered or damaged during this operation."

I'm starting to lose count on how many times we have bitchslaped that yellow toothed Iranian crony's "army".

Many dead in Baghdad mosque raid

At least 16 people have been killed in a raid on a mosque in Baghdad where militants loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr were based, reports say.

Aides to Mr Sadr say US forces led the raid on a mosque, while the US says Iraqi troops ran it with US support.

"No mosques were entered or damaged during this operation," the US military said in a statement.

In a second raid, US troops arrested more than 40 Interior Ministry staff said to be guarding a secret prison.

Earlier on Sunday, Iraqi security forces found 30 bodies - many of them beheaded - near the town of Baquba.

'Unarmed'

In Baghdad, an aide to Mr Sadr accused the US of killing unarmed people at the mosque.

"The American forces went into Mustafa mosque at prayers and killed more than 20 worshippers," Hazim al-Araji told Reuters news agency.

But the US military statement denied that any troops had entered the mosque and said the US special forces troops were on hand only as advisers to the Iraqi troops.

"Iraqi Special Operations Forces conducted a twilight raid in the Aadhamiya neighbourhood in northeast Baghdad to disrupt a terrorist cell responsible for conducting attacks on Iraqi security and Coalition Forces and kidnapping Iraqi civilians in the local area," the statement said.

It said 16 people had been killed. Iraqi police said 22 had died.

AFP news agency said residents close to the scene reported hearing gunfire and ambulances, while black-clad members of Mr Sadr's Mehdi Army could be seen in the streets.

Earlier, in the predominantly Shia city of Najaf, unidentified assailants fired a mortar at the home of Mr Sadr, injuring a child and at least one guard.

Secret bunker

There are conflicting reports about the raid on the Interior Ministry building in Baghdad.

A US source said American and Iraqi forces had detained 41 Interior Ministry personnel who had been guarding a secret bunker complex in the building.

But a senior Interior Ministry official denied that ministry staff had been arrested.

AP news agency reported that some 10 Iraqi policemen were held after the 17 prisoners were discovered in the facility.

A deputy interior minister, Major General Ali Ghalib, said the policemen were released when the Americans realised the prisoners were being held legitimately.

Mr Ghalib said the prisoners were of Sudanese origin, and were being held for "violating residency laws".

According to AP, Mr Ghalib said US troops "transferred the Sudanese detainees to another location and they later released the policemen after they had determined that the detention of the Sudanese was legal".

The US military has yet to comment on the reports.

Grim find

The headless bodies were found at a roadside near Mullah Eid, a village to the south-west of Baquba, Iraqi security officials said.

Sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis has plagued the area around Baquba since the bombing of a Shia shrine in the city of Samarra in February.

All of those killed were thought to be men. Many had also been shot, officials said.

Also on Sunday, police in Baghdad said they had found at least 13 bodies in various districts of the city, some of which had been handcuffed and shot.

These latest developments come as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested that the US could pull significant numbers of troops out of Iraq this year, depending on the security situation.

There are currently about 133,000 US troops in Iraq. The Pentagon is reportedly aiming to cut that number to about 100,000 by the end of 2006.

From the breathless Times article it seems the world is coming to an end.

If, in fact, Iraqi forces are taking it to Fatboy, it's good news.

We have the beginnings of a national army that will not tolerate independent militias.

including an 80-year-old imam

Does ANYONE care? This piece of information is only important to the enemy.

So many versions of these activities being reported by various sources. Quite frankly I am surprised that Sadr City is not at this very moment totally sealed off. No one goes in and no one goes out on any of the approximately 15 streets on its boarders. Seal if off, and send in large numbers of Iraqi troops block by block street by street. Every building and home is totally searched, every crack and cranny. Every human is profiled into the growing database, e.g. iris scans, full names, occupation, visible scars, fingerprints.
Teams must carefully examine all outside surface areas for any signs of underground tunnels and storage areas for weapons, and wmds. the creek bed along the northeastern part of the neighborhood, thoroughly searched both, channel and banks for any weapon storage, as well as the open areas along side Sadr City proper.
Once every person has gone through the routine, and allowed to have only one AK47 per household registered, make it clear to Sadr that the government demands the total disbanding of this milita. If Sadr does not sign a written document, then Sadr City stays shut down. Food rationing stations set up so families may get food, and medical supplies but that is all. Surely once this was done, and the streets continued to be sealed as well as other areas of foot travel, Sadr would have to think real hard what his future is to be. As long as these damn milita's are able to continue the problems are not going to go away.
At least the above would dismantle one of the main militas and give pause to say Kakim that he is next in line. In his case he has to deal with the Iraqi forces, US and British forces. A much bigger problem down south admitably.

Definitely needs to be room temperature ASAP.

A video grab shows various bodies lying on the floor at a mosque in the Shaab district of eastern Baghdad March 26, 2006. Politicians from Iraq's Shi'ite majority accused U.S. troops of massacring 20 worshippers at a Baghdad mosque on Sunday but police and residents said many died in clashes between Shi'ite militia fighters and Americans. (Reuters Tv/Reuters)

Iraqi Cleric Al-Sadr Unharmed by Mortar = ABC News

US occupation forces trying to remove Moqtada al-Sadr's movement from Baghdad

Baghdad, 26 March - After repeated raids on offices of Moqtada al-Sadr's movement in Baghdad, a large number of al-Sadr's militiamen have been killed today in clashes with the US occupation forces. According to Hazem al-Aaraji, a representant of al-Sadr's office, the men were killed in the Mostafa mosque in the neighborhood of Ur, in northern Baghdad.

The US army spokespersons declined to give any information, but Iraqi police and inhabitants from the area around the mosque confirmed that the military operation had taken place and talked about 10 killed. Al-Aaraji says the number exceeds 20, but non confirmation could be obtained, as the area was immediately sealed off by the US forces.

sealed off by the US forces.

Just what Marine_Uncle was calling for!

AP Chimes in:

***********************************************

Today: March 26, 2006 at 19:26:9 PST

Wave of Violence Kills at Least 69 Iraqis

By STEVEN R. HURST
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -

0326dv-iraqviolence Police found 30 more victims of the sectarian slaughter ravaging Iraq - most of them beheaded - dumped on a village road north of Baghdad on Sunday. At least 16 other Iraqis were killed in a U.S.-backed raid in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital.

Accounts of the raid varied. Aides to the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi police both said it took place at a mosque, with police claiming 22 bystanders died and al-Sadr's aides saying 18 innocent men were killed.

The Americans said Iraqi special forces backed by U.S. troops killed 16 "insurgents" in a raid on a community meeting hall after gunmen opened fire on approaching troops.

"No mosques were entered or damaged during this operation," the military said. It said a non-Western hostage was freed, but no name or nationality was provided.

Associated Press videotape showed a tangle of dead male bodies with gunshot wounds on the floor of what was said by the cameraman to be the imam's living quarters, attached to mosque itself.

The tape showed 5.56 mm shell casings scattered about the floor. U.S. forces use that caliber ammunition. A grieving man in white Arab robes stepped among the bodies strewn across the blood-smeared floor.

A total of at least 69 people were reported killed Sunday in one of the bloodiest days in weeks. Most of the dead appeared to be victims the shadowy Sunni-Shiite score-settling that has torn at the fabric of Iraq since Feb. 22 when a Shiite shrine was blown apart in Samarra, north of Baghdad.

Much of the recent killing is seen as the work of Shiite militias or death squads that have infiltrated or are tolerated by Iraqi police under the control of the Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry.

Many of the victims have been found dumped, mainly in Baghdad, with their hands tied, showing signs of torture and shot in the head.

In an apparent effort to clamp down on police wrongdoing, American troops raided an Interior Ministry building and briefly detained about 10 Iraqi policemen after discovering 17 Sudanese prisoners in the facility, Iraqi authorities reported.

The report was reminiscent of a similar U.S. raid last November that found detainees apparently tortured. That discovery set off a round of international demands for investigations and reform of Iraqi police practices to ensure observance of human rights.

In this case the Americans quickly determined the Sudanese were held legitimately and had not been abused, said Maj. Gen. Ali Ghalib, a deputy interior minister.

The U.S. military command here had no immediate comment.

The raid in Baghdad came a day after U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad spoke out on the need to cap the sectarian, militia-inspired killing, saying "More Iraqis are dying today from the militia violence than from the terrorists." He did not say which militias he meant nor did he define who the terrorists were.

The two major militia forces in the country are Shiite organizations - the Mahdi Army of al-Sadr and the Badr Brigades, the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. Both have ties with Iran.

Hours before the raid in Baghdad near Sadr City, al-Sadr personally was the apparent target of a mortar attack at his home in the holy city of Najaf, 90 miles south of Baghdad.

At least one mortar round struck within yards of al-Sadr's home, wounding a guard and a passing child, said Sheik Sahib al-Amiri, an aide to the cleric.

Shortly after the attack, al-Sadr issued a statement calling for calm.

"I call upon all brothers to stay calm and I call upon the Iraqi army to protect the pilgrims as the Nawasib (militants) are aiming to attack Shiites every day," he said, referring to Wednesday's commemoration marking the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

Following the raid, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shiite, expressed concern and telephoned Iraqi military leaders and U.S. Gen. George Casey to "discuss the situation," said spokesman Abdul Rezzaq Al-Kadhimi.

He said the prime minister promised government compensation for families of those killed in the raid and called for Iraqis to be patient until an investigation was completed.

Police Lt. Hassan Hmoud, who put the death toll at 22, said some of the casualties were at the Islamic Dawa Party-Iraq Organization office near the mosque. The incident started when U.S. forces came under fire from the direction of the mosque and the party office, he said. The party is a separate organization from the one headed by al-Jaafari.

Shiite legislator and party spokesman, Khudayer al-Khuzai, said 15 members of the party were holding a "cultural meeting" in an office near the Shiite mosque. "They have nothing to do with the acts of violence," he said.

Al-Khuzai claimed that after coming under attack, U.S. forces raided the party office, "tortured" the men, dragged them out and "executed" them. He said it was not clear who attacked the U.S. troops.

The main Shiite political bloc, the United Iraqi Alliance, would demand a quick investigation "because the Iraqi blood is not cheap," al-Khuzai said.

Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman, denied that the troops targeted a party office.

"The building was not a party headquarters but a community meeting room, and there was substantial intelligence on this building showing that that was not, in fact, what it was used for," he said.

In the north of the country, meanwhile, the Kurdish writer Kamal Karim was handed an 18-month sentence for articles on a Kurdish Web site that accused Masoud Barazani, one of the region's top leaders, of corruption.

This story is all over the map....

Watch for the Coalition Press Release....

including an 80-year-old imam

Why don't they lead with the good news? :')

Not a mosque according to this:

**************************

The Americans said Iraqi special forces backed by U.S. troops killed 16 "insurgents" in a raid on a community meeting hall after gunmen opened fire on approaching troops.

Careful, show respect for us elders...., I'm not that old yet....but I have ambitions.

Source: the "slimes"!??!

Security in Baghdad seems to be deteriorating by the hour, and it is increasingly unclear who is in control.

NYT writer was salivating while he wrote these words.

Another news source:

U.S. vs. the Mahdi Army
Fourth Rail ^ | 3/26/06 | Bill Roggio