The Hindu : International : Shias opening up second front

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

International

International

Shias opening up second front

By Atul Aneja

MANAMA, APRIL 6. In escalating violence sweeping across Iraq, Italian troops on Tuesday clashed with Shia fighters in Al-Nasiriyah, while fresh fighting has been reported from the encircled Sunni stronghold of Fallujah.

The sharpening confrontation between American troops and Iraqis has been accompanied by reports that the U.S. military is seeking additional forces in Iraq.

In Fallujah, skirmishes have been reported from the northern outskirts of the town, which has been a hotbed of Iraqi resistance.

The Americans are reportedly leading a "battalion size" operation, which includes the deployment of around 1,000 troops. Helicopter gunships are being used in the offensive and aerial bombardment has been reported overnight. American attack helicopters have targeted guerillas who have been firing from a mosque.

Details of the operation are sketchy, but the U.S. military command has said that four American soldiers died in Anbar province on Monday. It did not, however, say that the deaths took place in Fallujah, which is the biggest town in this vast province.

The U.S. military has said it intended to `pacify' Fallujah by carrying out its offensive. The military operation was triggered by last week's killing of four American contractors, belonging to a U.S. security firm and the subsequent mutilation of their bodies.

The Shia revolt by loyalists of the firebrand cleric Muqtada Sadr appears to have spread, opening up the possibility for the emergence of a "second front" of anti-American resistance.

Fifteen people have been killed in Al- Nasiriyah and a dozen Italian troops have been injured in the fighting. Fighters from the Mehdi Army, loyal to Al-Sadr have burnt vehicles belonging to the Italian army.

In Al-Amhara, also in southern Iraq, Shia fighters have clashed with British troops. Twelve Iraqis have been killed in the fighting there in the last 48 hours. The Mehdi Army had over the weekend confronted troops from Spain and El Salvador in Najaf, while it fought American forces in Baghdad's Sadr city and Shuala district. The militia also took over the Governor's office in Basra, Iraq's second largest city on Saturday.

It is demanding the release of Al-Sadr's deputy, Mustapha Yaqubi, who is under detention and is charged with the murder of Abdel Majid al Khoei, a rival cleric. Tensions heightened last night after U.S. authorities announced that an arrest warrant for Al-Sadr had been issued.

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