| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Iraq-Jordan | |
| Sadr’s militia less than 1,000-strong in Sadr City: US army | |
| 2004-05-11 | |
| BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military estimates less than 1,000 members of the Mehdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr are fighting from their Baghdad stronghold, using women and children as human shields. "I don’t think it’s a thousand, it’s probably not a hundred," Brigadier General Jeffrey Hammond, a deputy commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, told AFP about the size of the rebel cleric’s army in the slum of Sadr City. In fact, Hammond was betting on bleeding Sadr’s organisation dry even in the district named after his family following last year’s downfall of president Saddam Hussein. "Certainly when we kill 35 people, those numbers impact on the overall effectiveness of the organisation," he told AFP. The general was speaking after a turbulent 24-hour period that followed the 1st Cavalry Division’s arrest in Sadr City of Amir al-Husseini, considered the right-hand man of Sadr. Thirty-five Sadr militiamen were killed in the running battles that kicked off Sunday morning after Husseini’s arrest Saturday in Sadr City and climaxed pre-dawn Monday as teams of four to six men fired off small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) at US troops. The fighting Monday lasted from midnight to 4 am and saw US forces come under sniper and RPG fire eight times. "We moved through the town. We used calibrated precision fire to kill them. We eliminated them. They were operating in four-to-six man teams."
Since Sadr’s army kicked off its rebellion on April 4 and killed eight US soldiers in Baghdad, the cleric’s militia has laid low in the capital. But the arrest of Husseini on Saturday was a rallying cry for the fundamentalist army, whose fertile recruiting grounds are the abject warrens of Sadr City. "I think it was their reaction to our action. They were attempting to exert their influence in Sadr City," Hammond said about the sudden spike in violence. The clashes climaxed with the decision early Monday to flatten Sadr’s Baghdad offices with tank fire. "We eliminated the militia from the building and destroyed the building. It was a reminder that we were not going to let them dictate the terms to the good people" of Sadr City, Hammond said. Although the army arrested Husseini while Sadr himself is isolated in the central holy city of Najaf surrounded by a ring of US troops, Hammond conceded the Mehdi Army has not been eliminated. "Sadr still has an organised command structure to a degree. He retains an organised command and control structure that we continue to deal with," the general said. Despite Sadr’s allure to the masses, based on his father’s death in 1999 at the hands of Saddam’s regime, Hammond was betting people were not happy with the chaos and the young cleric’s call for revolt. Sadr is wanted by the Americans for the murder of a rival cleric last year in Najaf. "They are tired. They don’t like the collateral damage and their streets littered with combat debris," the general said. A key to Hammond’s strategy is the freeing up of millions of dollars to repair the infrastructure in Sadr City. The 1st Cavalry Division is set to start spending 140 million dollars on both Sadr City and Baghdad’s Rashid district to improve the sewage system, the water supply and electricity. The money is expected to create thousands of jobs. Envisioning Sadr City in a full-swing renaissance and the effect it would have on the Mehdi Army, Hammond suggested: "These people are going to be less apt to pick up an AK-47" assault rifle. | |
| Posted by:ed |
| #7 BigEd - thats less than 100 in BAGHDAD. See what he did was move most of his fighters from Baghdad to the southern cities of Najaf, Karabala, etc. Which looks pretty damn stupid, considering his base of support is in the Shiite slums of Baghdad. 3 possibilities 1. Hes really dumb 2. He thought that once his fighters were there, all the Shiites of Najaf, Karbala, etc would rally around him - see 1. 3. He realized that even in his base the local civilians werent wild about him, and that US strategy of seperating moderates from hostiles, etc would work. Therefore he went to the holy cities where he has two advantage A. the sensitivity wrt to the mosques B. Lots of IRANIAN "pilgrims". He still left behind some fighters in Baghdad, for when the "intifada" went national. Of course it hasnt, and now our troops in Baghdad are picking off the leftovers. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-05-11 1:13:39 PM |
| #6 that sadrs guys are bad guys aint complicated at all. Its how to deal with Sistani thats complicated. What to do about the fact that blasting in through Najaf can create problems for Sistani, among Iraqi Shiites who dont much like Muqty, but who dont hate him enough to want to blow up the shrine of Hussein to get him. Thats complicated. But picking off the thugs when they raise their heads, thats dangerous work for our troops, but not politically or morally complicated, I agree. Our troops have done a good job of precision attack in Sadr City, Najaf, and Karbala. Hats off to our troops! |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-05-11 1:08:38 PM |
| #5 Didn't al-Sadr start with 2,500 fighters, and now there is less than 100? Hmm - 2,400 x 72 =. . . . Dang that's over 170,000 virgins! Take no prisoners. The ones we have are causing a lot of trouble, and want to come here and be constituents of any number of Democrat Senators and Congressmen. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-11 12:34:07 PM |
| #4 "In the heat of battle, on Sunday, the guerrillas running through the sewage-strewn streets were using "human shields", he charged. "As we were moving through we were engaged by RPG gunmen hidden behind women and children ... That’s the way the enemy fights." Who cares... some guard farted in the presence of a detainee in prison.... what humiliation... we better call for Rummy's resignation over it... Until the military can produce proof (as in pictures or videos) on these 'human shields' nobody will take these accusations seriously. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-05-11 12:26:04 PM |
| #3 Use a human shield? Lose the top of your head - Sniper's law |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-11 11:37:12 AM |
| #2 Rock, it aint politicly correct to boil it down to good guys and bad guys. That don't recognize all the subtleties of the situation. You see, them people is just poor and misunderstood, and its all cause we done it to them. Don't worry though, you makin that simplistic argument don't drive me crazy. |
| Posted by: Hank 2004-05-11 11:28:32 AM |
| #1 "In the heat of battle, on Sunday, the guerrillas running through the sewage-strewn streets were using "human shields", he charged. "As we were moving through we were engaged by RPG gunmen hidden behind women and children ... That’s the way the enemy fights." Allah is proud as his fighters rely on the moral principles of the infidels to inhibit their fire. The murder of innocent people through suicide bombs guarantees martydom, but when one of the shields is a casualty, there is "rage" in the streets. Our soldiers are deterred by shields, while their intent, their goal is to murder the innocent and defenseless. It's the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. It's not that complicated, and that is what drives the so called intellectuals crazy. |
| Posted by: Rock 2004-05-11 11:15:16 AM |