Iraqi forces battle Shiite militias At least 22 killed but crackdown prompts al-Sadr to warn of 'civil revolt'
MSNBC News Services
updated 8:14 a.m. PT, Tues., March. 25, 2008
BASRA, Iraq - Iraqi security forces fought fierce gunbattles with powerful Shiite militias in the southern oil hub of Basra on Tuesday in a major operation aimed at bringing the southern oil city under government control.
Gunmen also patrolled several Baghdad neighborhoods as followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered a nationwide civil disobedience campaign to demand an end to the crackdown on their Mahdi Army movement.
Explosions rang out across central Baghdad as rockets or mortars fired from Shiite areas targeted the U.S.-protected Green Zone for the second time this week.
The violence was part of an escalation in the confrontation between the Shiite-run government and al-Sadr's followers — a move that threatens the security gains achieved by U.S. and Iraqi forces. Police and hospital officials reported that at least 22 people had been killed and 58 wounded in the Basra clashes.
Al-Sadr's allies have grown increasingly angry over raids and detentions against them by U.S. and Iraqi forces, who insist the crackdown only affects rogue elements loyal to Iran.
'Strike the occupiers'
With tensions rising, al-Sadr's headquarters in Najaf ordered field commanders with his Mahdi Army militia to go on high alert and prepare "to strike the occupiers" and their Iraqi allies, a militia officer said.
The Mahdi Army, which has thousands of fighters, has kept a relatively low profile since al-Sadr called a cease-fire last August. The truce is one of the key factors in a steep drop in violence over the past several months. But on Tuesday there were signs of growing unrest.
Al-Sadr threatened a countrywide "civil revolt" if attacks on the Mahdi Army continued, and police sources said his supporters had seized control of five districts of the southern Iraqi town of Kut.
Lawmakers from al-Sadr's movement announced in a Baghdad press conference that a civil disobedience campaign which began in selected neighborhoods of the capital was being expanded nationwide.
Stores and schools were closed in several other predominantly Shiite neighborhoods in the capital, apparently in compliance with the civil disobedience order. Armed Mahdi Army members were seen patrolling the streets in some Shiite neighborhoods of the capital.
Tuesday's operation in Basra targeted rival factions from Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority and criminal gangs which have been competing for control of the area.
AP Television News video showed smoke from explosions rising over the city and Iraqi soldiers exchanging gunfire with militia members.
'Wipe out the outlaws'
Iraqi army Major-General Ali Zaidan, the commander of Iraqi ground forces in the operation, said the offensive started at dawn and would continue "until we achieve our target."
"The target is to wipe out all the outlaws. There were clashes and many outlaws have been killed," Zaidan said.
Col. Karim al-Zaidi, spokesman for the Iraq military, said security forces in the city's center encountered stiff resistance from Mahdi Army gunmen.
Two powerful Shiite factions, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and the followers of al-Sadr, are fighting for power in Basra along with a smaller Shiite party, Fadhila.
Criminal gangs are also vying for control of lucrative oil-smuggling routes at a time when Iraq, which has the world's third-largest reserves of oil, is trying to boost exports.
Basra residents said Tuesday's operation was concentrated in six northern districts where the Mahdi Army militia is known to have a strong presence.
'Afraid to go out'
"Basra is half empty. There are no vehicles and no one is going to work. People are afraid to go out," said a military official in the city, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The clashes broke out after Iraqi authorities set an indefinite nighttime curfew on the city starting Monday. The operation was launched after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visited Basra on Monday and vowed to reimpose his government's control over the city, whose oil fields are the source of most of Iraq's revenues.
Security in Basra, about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, had been steadily declining well before the British handed over responsibility for security to the Iraqis on Dec. 16.
Major Tom Holloway, a spokesman for British forces in Basra, said troop reinforcements had been sent from across Iraq.
The British military said no British ground forces were involved in the operation, but warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition were carrying out aerial surveillance.
An Iraqi oil industry official said fighting in Basra had not affected exports or drilling operations.
Al-Sadr's organization has threatened that tensions will escalate in Basra if members of the Mahdi Army are targeted.
"We are calling for calm, but this new security plan has the wrong timing," Harith al-Edhari, the director of al-Sadr's office in Basra, said Tuesday.
Al-Sadr's followers also have accused the Shiite-dominated government of exploiting a cease-fire to target the cleric's supporters in advance of provincial elections expected this fall. They have demanded the release of supporters rounded up in recent weeks.
The cleric recently told his followers that although the truce remains in effect, they were free to defend themselves against attacks.
Renegade elements
U.S. officials have insisted they are not going after Sadrists who respect the cease-fire but are targeting renegade elements, known as special groups, that the Americans believe have ties to Iran.
The clashes follow recent fighting elsewhere in the country between U.S. and Iraqi forces and factions of the Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army has come under severe strains in recent weeks as the U.S. and Iraqi forces detained followers they accuse of belonging to breakaway groups.
The U.S. military has accused Iran of arming and funding Shiite extremists to fight American forces in Iraq. Iran denies the allegation.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said on Tuesday that five suspected militants were killed in Basra while attempting to place a roadside bomb. Ten others were injured after being spotted conducting suspicious activity, the statement said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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