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Open speculation has been growing this last week (fueled by the remarks of Admiral Mullen) that Iran was beginning to stockpile weapons and other assets with the Mahdis in preparation for a major insurrection/assault across southern Iraq in September and October, when they believed America would be paralyzed by election concerns. Maliki’s sudden attack must may have shortcircuited all of those plans.
Not to say that Iran won’t try *something* - they probably will. But the options open to them will now be much riskier.
US Using Banned Weapons in Iraq
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BAGHDAD, April 27--A senior Iraqi health official has said that the US military has been utilizing internationally prohibited weapons against the Iraqi people in Baghdad's eastern neighborhood of Sadr City.
Ale Yassin, the member of the Committee on Health and Environment in the Iraqi parliament said that the occupying troops use internationally prohibited weapons during raids on Sadr City.
She said that forensic medicine investigations proved that the occupying troops used banned bombs in the recent raids on Sadr City which killed a number of people and injured several others.
Yassin added that the investigations came to the conclusion after carrying autopsy on the bodies of martyrs and injured people from the city.
Sheikh Salah al-Obaidi, a senior member of Sadr group strongly denounced the US crimes and massacres against the people of the city.
Obaidi said in a statement given to Alalam satellite TV on Saturday evening that "There are crimes against humanity committed by the occupying troops in the Sadr City, and there is a provocation by targeting children and women."
The US military has recently launched a full-scale crackdown against the people in Sadr City killing the people there everyday.
On Saturday fierce clashes between gunmen and the US troops in Baghdad's Sadr City killed at least eight people, including two children.
The US military began building a concrete wall there last week. But the construction project has angered local followers of Sadr.
Sadr on Friday called upon his followers and security forces to stop confrontation, a week after he warned of "open war" against the occupying troops in Iraq.
He asked all Iraqi groups to continue to observe the ceasefire and not to battle government forces.
He also made clear his battle was against US occupying troops, whom he has demanded leave Iraq.
"My brothers in the Mehdi Army and the Iraqi forces, be a single hand and stop shedding each other's blood. Support all types of resistance in order to have a safe Iraq," Sadr said.
I'm guessing the thugs were killed by their own shrapnel, which also killed the innocents in the area.
In other words, if Sadr will totally surrender!!
Good on ya, Maliki.