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| Iraq |
| Malitia returns to Sadr City |
| 2007-03-30 |
| Shi'ite militiamen, who melted away from Baghdad when U.S. and Iraqi troops began their security crackdown seven weeks ago, are rolling back into the city with fresh Iranian training, Iraqi and other officials said. It is not clear whether the radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in control of the newly trained group, which some Iraqis describe as a "secret army" trained and equipped by Iran. U.S. forces are concerned that, despite Shi'ite leaders' assurances that they have pulled their fighters off the streets, uncooperative militias will return and seek to destabilize efforts to secure the city. Videotapes and other evidence of Iranian propaganda have been found on people recently detained in Sadr City, said a member of one of the multiple Iraqi and U.S. security forces trying to return security to Baghdad. "This is a special group, used for special operations, not controlled by Muqtada al-Sadr. This is a secret army," said the Iraqi, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals. "They work for Iranian intelligence. They have good weapons, good salary." The daily number of sectarian executions is creeping up again in some neighborhoods of Baghdad, despite an enormous coordinated security effort by U.S. and Iraqi forces that has reduced incidents of violence. "We are 120 men and 17 Stryker [armored vehicles] facing 2.9 million people and staring right at the fangs of the beast," said one member of the U.S. forces who faces that challenge daily. U.S. forces have been waiting to enter the heart of Sadr City until they identify the enemies, know their numbers and understand what it will take to subdue them. "We might push something to a flash point and force people to react -- people who, if given another option, might react differently," said one U.S. official, asking not to be named. Instead, U.S. forces are encouraging Iraqi security forces -- some of whom have personal ties to the neighborhood and are followers of Sheik al-Sadr -- to take the lead in the area as they go on joint foot patrols and visit with families on the outskirts of the area. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #1 Malitia? Was that intentional? If so, very clever. I like it. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2007-03-30 12:53 |