Posted on 04/30/2008 6:33:40 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Iraqis cover dead bodies with blankets in the ruins of a destroyed house by an alleged US air strike on Baghdad's Sadr City. At least 925 people have been killed in clashes between militiamen and security forces in Baghdad's Sadr City that began on March 25.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Clashes between Shiite militiamen and security forces have killed more than 900 people in Baghdad's Sadr City, an Iraqi official said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to keep up the offensive.
The latest death toll from the Sadr City fighting that erupted late last month is set to make April the deadliest month this year, denting US and Iraqi government claims of improved security.
"There were 925 martyrs in Sadr City and 2,605 others have been wounded," Tehseen Sheikhly, spokesman for the government's Baghdad security plan, told reporters.
Fierce clashes between US and Iraqi forces and Shiite militiamen, mostly from the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, broke out after Maliki ordered a crackdown on militias in the main southern city of Basra on March 25.
The crackdown triggered an eruption of violence across Shiite areas of Iraq, particularly Sadr City, Baghdad's most populous Shiite district and a bastion of the Mahdi Army.
On Wednesday, fresh clashes left another 13 militants killed, the American military said.
In one firefight, seven militants were killed after US soldiers were targeted by mortar fire in the southern sector of Sadr City, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover told AFP.
It was not immediately clear whether the deaths of 13 militants were included in the overall toll given by Sheikhly.
The clashes have also inflicted a heavy toll on US forces. At least 21 soldiers have been killed in Baghdad in April, a significant number of them in and around Sadr City.
The US military has in April lost at least 47 soldiers across Iraq, making it the deadliest month since last September when 65 troops were killed, according to an AFP tally based on independent website www.icasualties.org.
Iraqi casualty figures for April from government ministries were not expected before Thursday but in March at least 1,082 people were killed, according to the figures.
Those losses, contrasting with the 721 recorded in February, confirmed a resurgence in bloodshed from the falling figures through the second half of last year.
The US military has vowed to press its fight against the "criminals" in Sadr City in the face of persistent rocket and mortar fire against the heavily-fortified Green Zone that houses the Iraqi government and US embassy.
On Wednesday, Maliki accused the militiamen of using civilians as "human shields" while fighting the security forces.
"Criminals and lawless gangs are using human shields in Sadr City ... They are following the steps of the Baathist regime," Maliki told a press conference.
"They are trying to gain sympathy but they are using the lies and the values of the former regime" of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.
The US military says that gunmen have been firing at troops from rooftops, alleways and houses resulting in firefights in which civilians are often killed.
Maliki vowed to disband the Mahdi Army as well as Sunni insurgent groups, particularly Al-Qaeda.
"We will not allow scavengers in Iraq. The suffering will not be long in Sadr City. We will save our brothers," he said.
The premier accused the militias of forcing Sadr City residents to stay at home out of fear. "I do not know how those people use the (Shiite religious) names we respect like Mahdi and Sadr," he said.
Maliki was alluding to Moqtada's father Grand Ayatollah Mohamed Sadeq al-Sadr, a revered Shiite spiritual leader before his assassination, as well as Imam al-Mahdi, a central figure in the faith.
Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
Not sure of the time period and region covered in the report.....
At least 925 people have been killed in clashes between militiamen and security forces in Baghdad's Sadr City that began on March 25.
Who they think killed all those Islamists? Belize?
Barry Obama is deeply saddened.
That photo looks like WWII rubble.
Or what?
CIA Director Hayden Says Iran Wants Americans in Iraq Killed
"There were 925 martyrs in Sadr City and 2,605 others have been wounded," Tehseen Sheikhly, spokesman for the government's Baghdad security plan, told reporters.
So not sure whose side the Government spokesmen is on?
You should see what was once the Ba'ath Party HQ. And Believers' Palace...the first target struck in the 2003 war.
They are both left as is for now.
As a reminder.
Too many left standing in the photo.
Well, since they’re all “martyrs” you know they were all good little Muslims.
Anybody know where Mookie is?
It’s suspected he is in Qoom , Iran,...studying ...
It’s good to have some reminders around,....we seem to have clkeaned up after 9/11 too soon for many of the enlightened US Citizens.
These were civilians or criminals or terrorists or troops???
Maybe to the folks at AFP it just doesn’t matter.
Troops in Iraq Kill 11 Suspected Terrorists
*************************EXCERPT***************************
WASHINGTON, April 30, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 11 suspected terrorists, detained three others, and seized weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.
Anyway to check on this person:
Tehseen Sheikhly, spokesman for the government's Baghdad security plan
The more I read this somewhat garbled report,,,it reads a bit like some propaganda...particularly calling the killed ... Martyrs...
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