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Iraq

Breaking News: 30 Dead, 42 Wounded in Heavy Fighting Between Iraqi Police, Al-Sadr Militia

2006-10-26

Posted by:Atomic Conspiracy

#13 Unclear on your implication, capsu. The conventional way of influencing US political situation in favor of the admin. would be to reduce US casualties, by deferring whatever limited offensive ops may be in the offing and/or reducing patrols (there have been claims that patrols have been reduced going back a long time, but whether that's true or whether it was for political or other reasons are unknown).

If you mean enemy action, it's likely some of them are trying to influence our elections, but casualty numbers go up and down for many reasons and the timing is generally beyond the control of the bad guys. To return to the issue on the other thread, as US casualties are typically reported in a vacuum (i.e., context that might enlighten as to how the casualties occurred is systematically, though not uniformly, excluded from official information), it's even more difficult to figure out whether this month's comparatively high casualty numbers are related to coalition initiatives, enemy initiatives, or neither.

Posted by: Verlaine 2006-10-26 21:00

#12 I wonder who attacked who. I'm guessing that if its the police then it was the Mahdi boys who started things and the cops were fighting for their lives.

Could also be a matter of two Shiite factions fighting it out

Posted by: Pappy 2006-10-26 20:58

#11 I sadly wonder how many of our guys have died this month in the name of trying to influence the mid term elections.

Posted by: Capsu 78 2006-10-26 18:07

#10 I doubt there is anything being done for the next two weeks that does not contain a big dose of trying to influence the elections in the US. Recall that the previous peaks in activity in Iraq have been related with efforts to suppress the vote there. Elections are the worst thing that can happen to the Islamists, unless they involve a donk victory.

Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-10-26 17:37

#9 Interesting that the story refers to Iraqi police rather than Iraqi army units. It is also not taking place in Sadr City but in Baqouba. I wonder who attacked who. I'm guessing that if its the police then it was the Mahdi boys who started things and the cops were fighting for their lives. I also wonder what the ethnic makeup of the cops is in that town. If its sunni, then they were definitely fighting for their lives. Then you have Najaf shut down. I wonder if the Iranians are doing an all out push to foment civil war using their Mahdi proxies. Stir up the shiites some more by booming the imam ali mosque again. Wheels within wheels.

Posted by: remoteman 2006-10-26 17:13

#8 I suspect Bush told Maliki to get moving or he could look forward to his next meeting being with President Pelosi.

Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-10-26 16:39

#7 ...Faster, please...

Mike

Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2006-10-26 16:25

#6 Full story up now:

BAGHDAD, Iraq A fierce battle between police and militia gunmen northeast of Baghdad Thursday left 30 people dead and 42 wounded, a police official said.

The new violence came as the U.S. military announced the deaths of five servicemen killed in action in Anbar province on Wednesday.

The gunmen fighting police in the city of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of the capital, were believed to be members of the Mahdi Army militia loyal to hard-line anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said Ghassan al-Bawi, police chief of surrounding Diyala province. The dead included 12 police officers and 18 militants, he said.

In Najaf, one of the country's most important Shiite Muslim shrines was closed down following reports it may be targeted by suicide bombers.

Witnesses said streets around the Imam Ali mosque were blocked off and the shrine itself was sealed to visitors after security officials said they had intelligence that the city had been infiltrated by two bombers who had wrapped themselves in explosives. . . .

Posted by: Mike 2006-10-26 15:34

#5 Good. Let much Tator Tots blood flow.

Posted by: DarthVader 2006-10-26 15:34

#4 Or maybe this just another example of "watch the hand, not the mouth" advice so useful in ME politics.

Iraqi troops, who report to the govt of Maliki, are fighing with Sadrists, despite Maliki condemning such attacks. They are doing so because the Sadrists are committing unspeakable acts of bloodshed and torture against Sunnis, acts that Muqtada al-Sadr in his PUBLIC statements has repeatedly condemned.

Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-10-26 15:30

#3 Given Mr. Maliki's ;atest musings, one can only hoped he's been shoved hard enough to have landed in a mud puddle.

Posted by: trailing wife 2006-10-26 15:23

#2 Thanks for the heads-up, AC...

Posted by: .com 2006-10-26 15:18

#1 Just the headline so far. I hope the Tater is getting fried. Maliki has either grown a pair or been shoved aside completely.

Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2006-10-26 15:15

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