Basra Battle-2nd Day

Iraq forces, militants clash in oil city
26 Mar 2008 07:36:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq, March 26 (Reuters) - Militants loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr clashed with Iraqi security forces throughout Iraq's southern oil hub of Basra for a second day on Wednesday.

A health official said 40 people had been killed and 200 wounded in the first day of the clashes, including civilians, gunmen and Iraqi security forces.

Police said heavy gunbattles between the two sides restarted early Wednesday in five districts of the city after a brief lull, as the Iraqi military continued its operation to clear the city of armed gunmen.

Mortar or rocket attacks struck Iraqi security forces checkpoints and bases regularly.

Many towns and cities across southern Iraq were under a night-time curfew as authorities sought to prevent further outbreaks of violence.

Ground commander Major-General Ali Zaidan told Reuters his forces had killed more than 30 militants on the first day of the operation, which began before dawn on Tuesday. More than 25 were wounded and around 50 were captured, he said.

"The operation is still going on and will not stop until it achieves its objectives," he said. "It is on the same scale as yesterday."

Police said a roadside bomb exploded near a car in northern Basra early on Wednesday killing all of the passengers.

"Now there is heavy gunfire and I have heard the sounds of explosions. I also saw a group of gunmen planting roadside bombs," said Abbas, a Basra resident who would only give his first name.

In Baghdad there have also been clashes in Sadr city, a poor, crowded area that is a major base of support for Sadr's followers.

A source at Sadr City's Imam Ali hospital said four bodies and 25 wounded arrived overnight.

U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Stover said two members of the Iraqi security forces were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Sadr City late on Tuesday.

U.S. forces reinforced the checkpoint. A U.S. Stryker armoured vehicle was also destroyed by a roadside bomb in Sadr City, and there were several rocket attacks in the area overnight, he said.

The clashes have threatened a ceasefire Sadr imposed on his Mehdi Army militia last August.

Sadr, an influential leader who has not been seen in public for months, issued a statement calling on Iraqis to stage sit-ins all over Iraq and said he would declare "civil revolt" if attacks by U.S. and Iraqi forces continued.

Streets in Basra were largely empty except for Iraqi security forces, and shops remained closed. At least four Iraqi helicopters could be seen hovering over the city.

"The situation is so tense. I did not go to work today. Nobody is going to work," said Kareem, a Basra resident who would only give his first name. "There are gunmen at every intersection."

An official with Iraq's Southern Oil Company said fighting had not affected Basra's oil output or exports, which provide the vast majority of government revenues.

"The work of the oil companies concerning production and exports continue as normal because the military operations are taking place far away," he said. (Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Dominic Evans)

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14 killed, 140 wounded in Baghdad's Sadr City
DEATH TO MALIKI DEATH TO UNITED SHAITANIC STATES

I don't think so Ayatollah will be happy inside his peaceful home of Najaf
26 Mar 2008 07:56:15 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Adds Bustan quote)

BAGHDAD, March 26 (Reuters) - Fourteen people were killed and more than 140 wounded in clashes between security forces and Shi'ite militants in Baghdad's Sadr City slum, a medical source said on Wednesday.

The source in the health office for the eastern half of Baghdad said the figures came from the Sadr and Imam Ali hospitals in Sadr City and the Kindi hospital in central Baghdad.

He said the casualties included women and children caught in the crossfire in the clashes, which broke out on Tuesday and continued overnight.

Ali Bustan, general director of the health office, said at least 8 people had been killed and 70 wounded.

"We have a shortage of doctors because the American troops are not letting them into Sadr City," he told Reuters. (Reporting by Aseel Kami; writing by Peter Graff; editing by Ross Colvin)

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By Sholnn Freeman and Sudarsan RaghavanWashington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, March 26, 2008; Page A01





It was unclear why U.S. forces would take part in a broad armed challenge to Sadr and his thousands-strong militia on the eve of Petraeus's assessment, which the Bush administration has said would greatly influence its decision on whether to draw down troop levels.

But many Sadr followers view the offensive as the latest attempt by the United States and Sadr's Shiite rivals, who run Iraq's government, to take advantage of Sadr's cease-fire to weaken his movement politically ahead of provincial elections that could take place this year.

"We are really scared," said Aahad Hamid, 27, a Basra University employee whose voice quivered on the phone as Iraqi attack helicopters flew over the city. "We can hear the voice of the bullets."

In a sign of the offensive's importance, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki flew to Basra on Monday to oversee operations.

In addition to resisting with arms, Sadr's movement led a labor strike for a second day in many parts of eastern and central Baghdad on Tuesday, demanding the release of Sadr's jailed followers and an end to Iraqi government raids. Sadrist leaders ordered stores to close and taxi and bus drivers to stop operations. Many neighborhoods turned into virtual ghost towns, their usually busy streets all but empty. Parents kept their children home from school.

Sadr, who imposed the cease-fire to improve his nationalist credentials and rein in his often unruly militia, is under immense pressure from senior loyalists to lift the cease-fire order. Two weeks ago, he issued a statement permitting the Mahdi Army to fire on U.S. and Iraqi forces in self-defense. Hazim al-Araji, a senior Sadr official in the southern holy city of Najaf, told reporters there that the cease-fire remains in place despite Tuesday's clashes.

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Later, hundreds of Sadr followers took to the streets of Najaf, carrying Korans, Iraqi flags and olive branches. Calling Maliki "the agent of Americans," they chanted: "No, no occupation! No, no terrorism!"

"The Iraqi army went to Basra under the pretext of imposing a security plan, but the fact is they are targeting Sadrists," said Haidar al-Jaberi, a Sadr official who joined the protest.

Violence has gripped Basra since December, when British troops handed over control of the province to the Iraqi government. A power struggle between the Mahdi Army and its main rival, the Badr Organization militia of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, has battered the city in recent months. Smaller Shiite militias are also taking part in the fighting.

Ahead of the offensive, the Iraqi government closed off land access to the city and imposed a nighttime curfew until further notice. The government ordered schools, institutes and universities to cancel classes from Tuesday through Thursday. Some residents said they had no time to stock up on food and clean water.

Residents also reported that sporadic clashes began in Basra early Tuesday morning in the neighborhoods of Hayania, Jubaila and Jumhuria, all known Sadr strongholds. In telephone interviews, they described seeing military vehicles, soldiers and policemen exchanging fire with gunmen. Television footage showed militiamen firing rocket-propelled grenades at Iraqi security forces; others attacked from rooftops with AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns and mortars.

"No one is on the street," said Mohammed Kadhim, who owns a clothing shop in the city center. As he spoke, gunfire could be heard in the background. "I am not able to go out of my house."

Kadhim added that one of his neighbors had been shot in the face and was in critical condition.


"It's a tough and difficult battle," he said, adding that his men were fighting Mahdi Army militias, criminal gangs and death squads.

The adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, said he expected the campaign to take a week to 10 days. "No state can have two armies. It is either the Iraqi military or the Mahdi Army," he said.

Col. Bill Buckner, a U.S. military spokesman, said coalition forces were providing intelligence, surveillance and support aircraft. Maj. Tom Holloway, a British military spokesman, said British forces were standing by but were not involved in the crackdown. He also said the British and Americans were providing surveillance support from aircraft.

As the offensive progressed, violence broke out elsewhere in the country. In Baghdad's al-Amin neighborhood, Mahdi Army gunmen stormed two offices of the Dawa party, which Maliki heads, and clashed with guards there. Five Mahdi Army gunmen and two Dawa guards were killed, an Interior Ministry official said.

In Sadr City on Tuesday afternoon, Mahdi Army militiamen were manning checkpoints and directing traffic. The main police station was empty.

Abu Ali al-Fartousi, a Mahdi Army fighter, said a battle broke out in Sadr City at 10:30 p.m., with Mahdi fighters using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades to repel government forces. A U.S. military spokesman reported no word on any late-night fighting in Sadr City.

Lt. Col. Steven Stover, a U.S. military spokesman, said U.S. troops backed Iraqi security forces as they engaged with "special groups criminal elements outside of Sadr City." A U.S. soldier was killed about 5 p.m. in an attack near Baghdad's Adhamiyah district, the U.S. military said. He was not identified.

Special correspondents Zaid Sabah, Naseer Nouri, Dalya Hassan and K.I. Ibrahim in Baghdad, Saad Sarhan in Najaf, and Washington Post staff in Nasiriyah contributed to this report.