The Hindu : International : Shia militia tightens grip

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 09, 2004

International

International

Shia militia tightens grip

By Atul Aneja

A Sunni fighter raises his hands in celebration at the site of an attack on U.S. tankers near Abu Ghraib, a western suburb of Baghdad, on Thursday. — AP

MANAMA, APRIL 8. The top U.S. military commander in Iraq has acknowledged that Shia fighters were in control of two southern cities amid reports of fierce fighting in the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah as the uprising in Iraq entered its fourth day.

As violence swept through Iraq, two, so far unknown Iraqi groups kidnapped three Japanese and eight South Korean civilians. Videotape broadcast by the Arabic Al-Jazeera television station showed the kidnappers armed with automatic rifles and swords threatening to kill three blindfolded Japanese hostages, including a woman. The "Suraya al Mujahiddin" warned it would "burn alive" the trio of two journalists and an aid worker unless Tokyo withdrew its troops from Iraq within the next three days.

Around 500 Japanese ground troops have been stationed in the city of Samawah, marking Tokyo's first overseas military assignment since World War II. Their base was also subjected to a mortar attack last night, but did not cause any casualties.

Earlier, the Mehdi Army that is loyal to the young Shia cleric, Moqtada al Sadr, and is spearheading the revolt against the U.S. occupation of Iraq, claimed taking Spanish troops and possibly one American hostage. The militia reportedly intended to swap the captives with Mustapha Yaqubi, Mr. Al Sadr's deputy who was arrested on Saturday and accused of murdering a rival cleric.

In a day of dramatic developments, the Shia Interior Minister of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council for Iraq, Nuri Badran, resigned "at the request" of the U.S. administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer.

At a news conference, the U.S. commander, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said the Mehdi Army was in control of Al Kut.

Al Kut is a strategically important town as the key highway linking the southern port city of Basra to Baghdad passes through it. The centre of Najaf, including the holy shrines in the city, was also under the control of the Shia militia.

Witnesses have said that Kufa, on the outskirts of Najaf, was with Mr. Al Sadr's loyalists while the nearby Diwaniyeh was the first southern town to fall to the militia.

Gen. Sanchez said a military operation to recover Al Kut, which the Mehdi Army had taken over after forcing Ukrainian troops to exit on Wednesday, was `imminent'. In response to a question, he acknowledged linkages between the Shia militia and Sunni fighters "at the lowest levels."

In the Sunni stronghold of Fallujah, fierce street-to-street fighting continued to rage. One U.S. soldier was reportedly killed as the American death roll in four days of fighting in Iraq rose to 35. Hospital sources said at least 280 Iraqis were killed in the city since the U.S. offensive began.

Thousands of Iraqis came in a convoy to the outskirts of Fallujah from Baghdad, carrying aid supplies for civilians in the city. U.S. troops were letting some of the humanitarian vehicles in one by one, after checking the Iraqi drivers thoroughly.

In other flashpoints, fighting has reportedly broken out in the British-controlled and Shia-dominated Basra.

There has also been no let-up in pitched battles between the Mehdi Army and a combination of Polish and Bulgarian troops in Karbala.

In Baghdad, three explosions rocked the city centre and smoke was seen rising from the high security Green Zone, where the headquarters of the U.S. occupation are located. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Earlier, U.S. helicopters bombed the offices of Mr. Al Sadr in the Iraqi capital.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Shia militia tightens grip

Mehdi Army volatile, growing fast

Rice swears by pre-9/11 anti-terror policy

Tamil MPs ask Colombo to begin talks with LTTE

Blair, Bush to hold `crisis meet'

Those ancient feline friends

A special concert in Singapore

Russia, NATO to work for defusing global crises

France 'no' to Turkey's E.U. entry

Eco-friendly car

'Kashmir issue should be resolved politically'