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Iraq - Shi'ite fighters seize centre of Nassiriya
Reuters (excerpt) ^ | March 28, 2008 | Ross Colvin

Posted on 03/28/2008 2:30:18 AM PDT by HAL9000

Excerpt -

BAGHDAD, March 28 (Reuters) - Fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have seized the centre of the southern Nassiriya city, a Reuters witness said on Friday.

A four-day-old Iraqi army crackdown on Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army in Basra, Iraq's second city and its gateway to the Gulf, has sparked fighting across the south and in Baghdad.

In the capital, Iraqi lawmakers were due to hold an emergency session in a bid to end violence in the flashpoint oil city of Basra, where Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki gave militants a new deadline to hand over their weapons.

A Reuters reporter in Nassiriya, capital of Dhi Qar province, said he could see groups of fighters with machineguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The sound of sporadic gunfire echoed through the streets. Police appeared to be staying in their stations, he said.

Militants have also taken control of the town of Shatra, 40 km to the north, he said, citing witnesses.

~ snip ~


(Excerpt) Read more at alertnet.org ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: basra; iraq; nassiriya; shatra

1 posted on 03/28/2008 2:30:19 AM PDT by HAL9000
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To: HAL9000

I think it’s time to level all of al-Sadr’s property in Iraq. Just bring in the bull-dozers and level any residences or businesses he might own.

When he steps foot on Iraq soil again, he should be nothing but vapors within seconds.


2 posted on 03/28/2008 2:45:14 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (New Europe, John Benedict Arnold McCain's bridge to 07/03/1776. Not even our past is safe.)
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To: HAL9000
Isn't Moqi’s three day warning about up?
3 posted on 03/28/2008 2:57:12 AM PDT by shove_it (and have a nice day)
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To: HAL9000

Nuke. Quit fooling around girls and boys.


4 posted on 03/28/2008 3:04:04 AM PDT by Westlander (Unleash the Neutron Bomb)
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To: HAL9000

This reads just like those breathless reports from Afghanistan when the Taliban take over a town for 45 minutes. What’s next, a feared Shiite spring offensive?


5 posted on 03/28/2008 3:22:14 AM PDT by Dahoser (America's great untapped alternative energy source: The Founding Fathers spinning in their graves.)
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To: HAL9000

Let’s hope they are suckering him in


6 posted on 03/28/2008 5:33:04 AM PDT by uncbob
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