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U.S. Troops Kill 11 Members of Shiite Splinter Group Southeast of Baghdad
Thursday, December 27, 2007
BAGHDAD - U.S. troops killed 11 members of a Mahdi Army splinter group
early Thursday, American officials said. The military also announced that it
had detained two more suspects in the capture of three U.S. soldiers earlier
this year.
One of the suspects is thought to have "facilitated" the kidnapping of the
American soldiers taken during a May ambush near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles
south of Baghdad, and to have used his house to hide the soldiers, the
military said in a statement.
A weapon belonging to one of the soldiers was found at the residence of the
other suspect. The men were detained on Monday and Tuesday in Ramadi, the
military said.
Spc. Alex R. Jimenez of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty of
Waterford, Mich., were seized May 12 when insurgents attacked and overran a
checkpoint in the volatile area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of
death."
A third soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., of Torrance, Calif., also was
captured during the raid and his body was found May 23 floating in the
Euphrates River. Four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator were killed
during the ambush.
The Islamic State of Iraq, a front group for al-Qaida, claimed in an
Internet video earlier this year that the three missing soldiers were killed
and buried. The militants showed images of the military IDs of Jimenez and
Fouty but offered no proof that they were dead.
U.S. officials have said they have detained around a dozen suspects in
connection with the soldiers' disappearance.
Thursday's fighting took place in the early morning hours in Kut, 100 miles
southeast of Baghdad, a local police officer said on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
It was not immediately clear if the U.S. raid on the splinter militia
members would impact a six-month freeze on activities that the Mahdi Army
leader - radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr - called in August and has
signaled in the past week he might extend.
In the past, al-Sadr has said that any Mahdi Army members who do not abide
by his freeze would no longer be considered members of the militia. But he
also has indicated that his fighters have the right to defend themselves if
attacked by U.S. forces.
Al-Sadr's order to halt activities has been credited by American commanders
as one reason why violence in Iraq has fallen dramatically in the past six
months. However, it is unclear how much control al-Sadr maintains over his
fighters as groups have splintered from the main movement.
The officer who spoke condition of anonymity said eight militia members were
killed; the U.S. military said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that it
killed an "estimated" 11 fighters. The reason for the discrepancy was not
immediately clear.
In a later statement, the U.S. military said the operation was targeting a
suspect who was "reportedly responsible for attacks against Coalition
forces."
Troops approaching the target were fired at with assault rifles and rocket
propelled grenades, the military said. They then called in support aircraft.
The local police official said at least two U.S. helicopters were used in
the attack, along with an unknown number of fighter jets.
The military said no suspects were detained during the raid and that no U.S.
troops were killed or wounded.
Despite the its freeze on activities, U.S. commanders have in the past said
they would not stop targeting splinter elements of the Mahdi Army that they
said continue to operate, despite al-Sadr's order.
In early October, U.S. forces killed 25 Shiite militia fighters in Khalis,
north of Baghdad, who were believed to be part of a Mahdi Army splinter
group.
Also Thursday, Sunni and Shiite lawmakers criticized a draft amnesty bill to
release Iraqi detainees, saying it does not go far enough to release the
innocent and is likely to be shelved when it goes before parliament. The
measure was approved by Iraq's Cabinet the day before.
The measure will not be brought to parliament for debate until March at the
earliest, said Sami al-Askari a key adviser to Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki. Many key draft laws - including measures to share oil revenue and
to allow some members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to hold government
jobs - have remained mired for months in Iraq's gridlocked parliament.
Both the Iraqi government and the U.S. military each hold more than 20,000
prisoners detained since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
Al-Askari, who is a parliament member, said the amnesty would not cover
those convicted of terrorism, corruption, crimes against humanity and
kidnapping.
The draft will also not involve prisoners being held by American forces,
said Sadiq al-Rikabi, another al-Maliki adviser.
It was not clear how many prisoners might be affected by the proposed ban.
Al-Askari estimated that "80 percent of those held in Iraqi prisons are
there for terrorist crimes, therefore the amnesty would be for a limited
number."
Falah Shanshal, a Shiite lawmaker allied to al-Sadr, said the bill was
"useless" if it did not include prisoners in U.S. jails in Iraq. "It's not a
general amnesty, and it will be useless," he said.
Sunni lawmaker Asmaa Adnan al-Dulaimi of the Iraq Accordance Front, the
three-party alliance that has 44 parliamentary seats, told The Associated
Press that the law "will hinder the release of many innocents" as it will
encounter endless debate in parliament.
"The best thing is to leave this issue to the judicial system because it is
the only side who can decide who is innocent and who is not," she said. "The
judicial system should review the inmates' files carefully and immediately
in order to have them freed and not stranded by the long political
discussions."
U.S. Troops Kill 11 Members of Shiite Splinter Group Southeast of Baghdad
Thursday, December 27, 2007
BAGHDAD - U.S. troops killed 11 members of a Mahdi Army splinter group
early Thursday, American officials said. The military also announced that it
had detained two more suspects in the capture of three U.S. soldiers earlier
this year.
One of the suspects is thought to have "facilitated" the kidnapping of the
American soldiers taken during a May ambush near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles
south of Baghdad, and to have used his house to hide the soldiers, the
military said in a statement.
A weapon belonging to one of the soldiers was found at the residence of the
other suspect. The men were detained on Monday and Tuesday in Ramadi, the
military said.
Spc. Alex R. Jimenez of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty of
Waterford, Mich., were seized May 12 when insurgents attacked and overran a
checkpoint in the volatile area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of
death."
A third soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., of Torrance, Calif., also was
captured during the raid and his body was found May 23 floating in the
Euphrates River. Four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator were killed
during the ambush.
The Islamic State of Iraq, a front group for al-Qaida, claimed in an
Internet video earlier this year that the three missing soldiers were killed
and buried. The militants showed images of the military IDs of Jimenez and
Fouty but offered no proof that they were dead.
U.S. officials have said they have detained around a dozen suspects in
connection with the soldiers' disappearance.
Thursday's fighting took place in the early morning hours in Kut, 100 miles
southeast of Baghdad, a local police officer said on condition of anonymity
because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
It was not immediately clear if the U.S. raid on the splinter militia
members would impact a six-month freeze on activities that the Mahdi Army
leader - radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr - called in August and has
signaled in the past week he might extend.
In the past, al-Sadr has said that any Mahdi Army members who do not abide
by his freeze would no longer be considered members of the militia. But he
also has indicated that his fighters have the right to defend themselves if
attacked by U.S. forces.
Al-Sadr's order to halt activities has been credited by American commanders
as one reason why violence in Iraq has fallen dramatically in the past six
months. However, it is unclear how much control al-Sadr maintains over his
fighters as groups have splintered from the main movement.
The officer who spoke condition of anonymity said eight militia members were
killed; the U.S. military said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that it
killed an "estimated" 11 fighters. The reason for the discrepancy was not
immediately clear.
In a later statement, the U.S. military said the operation was targeting a
suspect who was "reportedly responsible for attacks against Coalition
forces."
Troops approaching the target were fired at with assault rifles and rocket
propelled grenades, the military said. They then called in support aircraft.
The local police official said at least two U.S. helicopters were used in
the attack, along with an unknown number of fighter jets.
The military said no suspects were detained during the raid and that no U.S.
troops were killed or wounded.
Despite the its freeze on activities, U.S. commanders have in the past said
they would not stop targeting splinter elements of the Mahdi Army that they
said continue to operate, despite al-Sadr's order.
In early October, U.S. forces killed 25 Shiite militia fighters in Khalis,
north of Baghdad, who were believed to be part of a Mahdi Army splinter
group.
Also Thursday, Sunni and Shiite lawmakers criticized a draft amnesty bill to
release Iraqi detainees, saying it does not go far enough to release the
innocent and is likely to be shelved when it goes before parliament. The
measure was approved by Iraq's Cabinet the day before.
The measure will not be brought to parliament for debate until March at the
earliest, said Sami al-Askari a key adviser to Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki. Many key draft laws - including measures to share oil revenue and
to allow some members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to hold government
jobs - have remained mired for months in Iraq's gridlocked parliament.
Both the Iraqi government and the U.S. military each hold more than 20,000
prisoners detained since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.
Al-Askari, who is a parliament member, said the amnesty would not cover
those convicted of terrorism, corruption, crimes against humanity and
kidnapping.
The draft will also not involve prisoners being held by American forces,
said Sadiq al-Rikabi, another al-Maliki adviser.
It was not clear how many prisoners might be affected by the proposed ban.
Al-Askari estimated that "80 percent of those held in Iraqi prisons are
there for terrorist crimes, therefore the amnesty would be for a limited
number."
Falah Shanshal, a Shiite lawmaker allied to al-Sadr, said the bill was
"useless" if it did not include prisoners in U.S. jails in Iraq. "It's not a
general amnesty, and it will be useless," he said.
Sunni lawmaker Asmaa Adnan al-Dulaimi of the Iraq Accordance Front, the
three-party alliance that has 44 parliamentary seats, told The Associated
Press that the law "will hinder the release of many innocents" as it will
encounter endless debate in parliament.
"The best thing is to leave this issue to the judicial system because it is
the only side who can decide who is innocent and who is not," she said. "The
judicial system should review the inmates' files carefully and immediately
in order to have them freed and not stranded by the long political
discussions."
