Posted on 04/23/2008 12:06:31 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The senior-most Iraqi general in charge of the security operation in Basrah has issued an ultimatum for wanted Mahdi Army leaders and fighters to surrender in the next 24 hours as the Iraqi and US military ignore Muqtada al Sadr's threat to conduct a third uprising. US troops killed 15 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad yesterday and have killed 56 fighters since Sadr issued his threat last weekend.
In Basrah, General Mohan al Freiji, the chief of the Basrah Operational Commander and leader of the security operation in the province, has given issued warrants "for 81 people, including senior leaders of the Mahdi militia, and they have 24 hours to give up," The Associated Press reported.
Iraqi troops continue to clear Basrah, although the fighting has been sparse since security forces cleared the Mahdi Army-controlled Hayaniyah neighborhood in Basrah last weekend. Iraqi forces "seized a cache containing huge amounts of weapons and ammunition" in the Al Tanuma neighborhood in eastern Basrah, Voices of Iraq reported. "The cache contains more than (1000) mortar rounds of different calibers, explosive equipment, and improvised explosive devices," a source told the Iraqi newspaper.
Mahdi Army targeted in Baghdad
(Excerpt) Read more at longwarjournal.org ...
RonF, before your post all I really knew about Sadr II was that he had bad teeth. I now feel like an expert, thank you :0)
this is really good news as it shows the iraqi army is beginning to grow in confidence....of course the US troops are probably heavily involved but i think yet another small corner has been turned here....
The Mookster can still redeem himself if he was to lead a final sword charge ala Iwo Jima.
Gee, maybe the Mook will take his sword and charge a couple of .50cal. machine guns or something cool like that. Should he also bring his own bodybag?
Well, I’m certainly glad that I can stop worrying about you for a couple of months. Enjoy your R&R. (((((((Allegra))))))
“I hope we don’t hear any glorification of what happened in Basra,” House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi warned Gen. David Petraeus...
Pelosi is warning Petraeus not to talk about our successes
The gig is up for the Sadr forces.
LOL... Ol’Mookie is done for. The Iraqis are simply ignoring any threats of his now.
They don’t care if he says, “I’ll do a cease fire”... They’re after him any way now. Finally, the central government has sufficient loyal troops and LE to put an end to his effectiveness.
Look for him to be a loudmouth hailing from Iran, but pretty inconsequential, and diminishing rapidly, in the near future.
Anyone following the Mookie saga on longwarjournal - which I now consider to be the most reliable news source about the MidEast situation - realized within days that the MSM had their take completely wrong.
The Iraqis kicked butt and took names in Basra and, even more so, elsewhere. Their continuing operations and determination to root out the Sadrite militiamen in spite of their having a little bit of trouble confirms that the government’s assessment is that mook’s end time has arrived.
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