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Mahdi Army taking significant casualties in Baghdad, South
The Long War Journal ^ | 29 March 2008 | Bill Roggio

Posted on 03/29/2008 9:03:51 PM PDT by DJ Elliott

With the fifth day of fighting in Baghdad, Basrah and the South completed, the Mahdi Army has suffered major losses over the past 36 hours. The Mahdi Army has not faired well over the past five days of fighting, losing an estimated two percent of its combat power, using the best case estimate for the size of the militia.

A look at the open source press reports from the US and Iraqi military and the established newspapers indicates 134 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 81 were wounded, 98 were captured, and 30 surrendered during the past 36 hours.

Since the fighting began on Tuesday 347 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 531 were wounded, 343 were captured, and 30 surrendered. The US and Iraqi security forces have killed 125 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone, while Iraqi security forces have killed 140 Mahdi fighters in Basra.

While the size of the Mahdi Army is a constant source of debate, media accounts often put the Mahdi Army at anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 fighters. With an estimated 1,000 Mahdi fighters killed, captured, wounded and surrendered, the Mahdi Army has taken an attrition rate of 1.5 to 2.5 percent over the past five days.

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


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: alsadr; army; basra; iraq; jam; mookie; roggio
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And this is just what has shown up.

Since JAM is now asking for help from Hezbolla, I suspect that they are getting hit worse... http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3524897,00.html

As to the report of 40 defectors in Sadr City, ISF only has 15 unaccounted for. Claiming three times as many is standard practice for JAM...

1 posted on 03/29/2008 9:03:51 PM PDT by DJ Elliott
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To: All

The term for the JAM victory so far is Phyric.
Another two months of victories like this and JAM will be gone...

Just in time for elections without them...


2 posted on 03/29/2008 9:06:37 PM PDT by DJ Elliott
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To: DJ Elliott

When the leader escapes from Teheran, hang him.


3 posted on 03/29/2008 9:07:34 PM PDT by purpleraine
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To: DJ Elliott

I’ll tell you how to spell Pyrrhic if you’ll tell me what JAM stands for.


4 posted on 03/29/2008 9:09:50 PM PDT by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: DJ Elliott

That’s a shame;)


5 posted on 03/29/2008 9:10:28 PM PDT by mdittmar (May God watch over those who serve,and have served,to keep us free)
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To: DJ Elliott

Sweet!


6 posted on 03/29/2008 9:11:46 PM PDT by G8 Diplomat (Welcome to the Middle East: Some days are Sunni, but most are Shi'ite)
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To: patriciaruth

Jaish al Mahdi, IIRC.


7 posted on 03/29/2008 9:15:53 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (New York Times Endorsed!!!)
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To: patriciaruth
The Mahdi Army, also known as the Mahdi Militia or Jaish al Mahdi (Arabic جيش المهدي), is an Iraqi paramilitary force created by the Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in June 2003. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdi_Army
8 posted on 03/29/2008 9:16:45 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (New York Times Endorsed!!!)
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To: patriciaruth

9 posted on 03/29/2008 9:17:26 PM PDT by jdm (Sign you've got a crappy job: your boss asks if you're on MySpace and if you'll add him as a friend.)
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To: patriciaruth

Jaish al Mahdi

And I hit the publish too quick...
lol


10 posted on 03/29/2008 9:19:00 PM PDT by DJ Elliott
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To: DJ Elliott
You'd never know this by following the MSM "news". I'm so glad they're going bankrupt faster than you can shake a stick.

PS: Also, expect a "cease fire (Hudna) offer soon from that cowardly Butt-Boy (aka Mookie).

11 posted on 03/29/2008 9:22:32 PM PDT by Mad_Tom_Rackham ("The land of the Free...Because of the Brave")
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To: DJ Elliott

Thanks for help with the alphabet soup.


12 posted on 03/29/2008 9:25:19 PM PDT by patriciaruth (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562436/posts)
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To: DJ Elliott

None of it means a hill of beans if we refuse to kill Al-Sadr (again).


13 posted on 03/29/2008 9:28:17 PM PDT by navyguy (Some days you are the pigeon, some days you are the statue.)
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To: DJ Elliott

Somebody please comfort John Moore.


14 posted on 03/29/2008 9:28:51 PM PDT by Eleutheria5 (http://www.publishedauthors.net/benmaxwell/index.html or try http://astore.amazon.com/bemasnebo-20)
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To: Mad_Tom_Rackham
The timing on this phase of the war is interesting. I have no doubt the Iranians were planning a "Tet" offensive in the few months before the election in November. But this isn't it. It's too early.

What that says is that its likely our guys decided to make the timing their own and to disrupt the Iranian networks and Al Sadr before they could mount a Tet. If my speculation is correct, then hats off to the allies for innovative and aggressive preemption. We can play the election as well as Iran.

15 posted on 03/29/2008 9:32:42 PM PDT by ModelBreaker
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To: ModelBreaker

What you say makes good sense, however I wonder if the democrat primary is not the target here. And if so, who would most likely benefit from the Insurgent “Tet”? Obama...something to think about.


16 posted on 03/29/2008 9:42:06 PM PDT by Wpin
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To: DJ Elliott

Hopefully tomorrow, it’ll be 4%.


17 posted on 03/29/2008 9:44:11 PM PDT by DGHoodini (Fall on your knees! Oh hear, the angels voices)
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To: DJ Elliott
So Mahdi Army has never improved. It is big in size but utterly ineffective in combat.

I wonder if they run around in groups, which would make them easy prey for one successful hit from a warplane or artillery.

18 posted on 03/29/2008 9:47:11 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (kim jong-il, chia head, ppogri, In Grim Reaper we trust)
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To: DGHoodini

...and 10% by Wednesday.


19 posted on 03/29/2008 9:47:42 PM PDT by DGHoodini (Fall on your knees! Oh hear, the angels voices)
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To: DGHoodini

But you know Mookie isn’t really going to start getting nervous until over 20,000 of his thugs have been killed.


20 posted on 03/29/2008 9:51:44 PM PDT by DGHoodini (Fall on your knees! Oh hear, the angels voices)
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