Breaking: 136 Casualties As Brits Battle Shiite Militia - ** With Updates **
UPDATE: REPORTS ARE COMING IN THAT THE BATTLE WAS THE RESULT OF A RAID ON A LARGE IRANIAN BACKED GROUP SPECIALIZING IN IRANIAN SUPPLIED “EFP” IEDs “believed to be members of the secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training,” said the U.S. military in a statement.
UPDATE: Widespread aggessive operations.
Jun 18 02:17 AM US/Eastern
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) - As many as 36 people were killed in a fierce battle early Monday between Shiite militiamen and British forces doing house-to-house searches south of Baghdad, Iraqi police and hospital officials said.
More than 100 others were injured in the fighting in Amarah, located 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, the officials said.
A doctor at the city’s general hospital said 36 bodies had been taken to his facility, though he could not determine how many were militiamen and how many were civilians. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.
Iraqi police said the Mahdi Army, the militia commanded by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was involved in the clashes that lasted for about two hours before dawn.
The British military could not immediately comment on the reports.
The violence came a day after residents in Baghdad emerged from their homes at the end of a four-day lockdown imposed after last week’s bombing of a major Shiite shrine and found themselves caught in traffic spawned by hundreds of new police and army checkpoints.
For Mona Abdul-Hussein, a 32-year-old engineering lecturer and mother of two, little came from the lockdown aside from higher food prices and longer power outages.
“I think things will get worse now,” she said of a possible outburst in sectarian violence. “Anyone who wanted to do this may have just delayed until after the curfew.”
The bombing of the Askariya shrine north of Baghdad was the second there in 16 months. The first, which destroyed the glistening golden dome, unleashed a torrent of Shiite-Sunni violence that continues to this day.
As the Baghdad curfew ended, the U.S. military reported it killed 14 suspected insurgents and captured 20 others in separate operations over the weekend. At least 37 other people were killed or found dead in sectarian violence Sunday.
One mosque was known to have been attacked in Baghdad and several were targeted south of Baghdad, including a major Sunni shrine that was leveled by an explosion outside Basra, Iraq’s second city. There was no repeat of the wholesale attacks on Sunni mosques and clerics that took place after last year’s bombing.
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
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Cut the supply routes. Gee, what a novel idea. Not exactly a permanant fix, but a good start.
Now cut the supplier. Cut them off from everything.
And when diplomacy fails…. Cut them to ribbons.
Strike first, strike hard, no mercy, Sir!
June 18th, 2007 at 6:01 amHmmm. I may be blind…but I think it said 36 casualties, not 136.
*is confused*
June 18th, 2007 at 9:25 amWe’ve been talking about Iran supplying EFP’s and training, etc. in Iraq for months. When are tough guys Bush and Cheney going to DO something about it? Have you ever heard some of the “international community” comment on the US taking action against Iran? They sound like they need diaper changes–that IAEA head Elbaradei sounds like a hysterical infant.
June 18th, 2007 at 12:12 pm“Casualties” include KIA AND wounded. 36 + 100 = 136.
June 18th, 2007 at 5:42 pmFor Mona Abdul-Hussein, a 32-year-old engineering lecturer and mother of two, little came from the lockdown aside from higher food prices and longer power outages.
“I think things will get worse now,” she said of a possible outburst in sectarian violence. “Anyone who wanted to do this may have just delayed until after the curfew.”
How many hours did the AP have to search before they conveniently found somebody to point out the dark cloud inside the silver lining? Mona sounds eerily like Sen Reid D-feat.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:37 pmEliminate Iran’s rat lines and create ours so we can arm the dissidents of Iran!
Salaam
June 20th, 2007 at 8:50 am