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http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/3/30/102603.shtml?s=lh
Muqtada Al-Sadr Blames U.S. for Iraq Woes
NewsMax.com Wires Friday, March 30, 2007
BAGHDAD -- The radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a scathing attack on
the United States on Friday, following one of the country's bloodiest days,
blaming Washington for Iraq's troubles and calling for a mass demonstration
April 9 - the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
As al-Sadr's remarks were read in a mosque, Shiites in Baghdad loaded wooden
coffins into vans and shoveled broken glass and other debris into
wheelbarrows in the aftermath of a double suicide bombing at a marketplace.
At least 181 people were killed or found dead Thursday as Sunni insurgents
apparently stepped up their campaign of bombings to derail the
seven-week-old security sweep in Baghdad.
Al-Sadr's statement was his first since March 14, when he urged his
supporters to resist U.S. forces in Iraq through peaceful means. Al-Sadr has
been said by U.S. and Iraqi officials to be in neighboring Iran, but his
aides insist he is still in Iraq.
The latest statement was read to worshippers during Friday prayers at a
mosque in Kufa, a Shiite holy city south of Baghdad where al-Sadr frequently
led the ritual.
"I renew my call for the occupier (the United States) to leave our land," he
said in the statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
"The departure of the occupier will mean stability for Iraq, victory for
Islam and peace and defeat for terrorism and infidels."
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militiamen fought U.S. troops in 2004 but have
generally cooperated with an ongoing U.S.-Iraqi security push in Baghdad,
blamed the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq for the rising violence, lack of
services and sectarian bloodshed.
"You, oppressed people of Iraq, let the entire world hear your voice that
you reject occupation, destruction and terrorism," he said in calling for
the April 9 demonstration.
"Fly Iraqi flags atop homes, apartment buildings and government departments
to show the sovereignty and independence of Iraq, and that you reject the
presence of American flags and those of other nations occupying our beloved
Iraq. Keep them there until they leave our land," he said.
Also on Friday, coalition forces detained a suspect who the U.S. military
said was linked to networks bringing sophisticated roadside bombs into Iraq.
The suspect, who was detained during a raid in the Shiite militia stronghold
of Sadr City, was believed to be tied to networks bringing the weapons known
as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, into Iraq, the military said.
It did not identify the suspect or the groups he was accused of having ties
to, but the U.S. military has asserted in recent months that Iran's
Revolutionary Guards and Quds force have been providing Shiite militias with
weapons and parts for sophisticated armor-piercing bombs. The EFPs are
responsible for the deaths of more than 170 American and coalition soldiers
since mid-2004, the military says.
The U.S. military also said a soldier was killed and another was wounded
Thursday during a patrol in southern Baghdad, raising to at least 3,245 the
number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in 2003,
according to an AP count.
Thursday's deadliest bombing was in Shaab, a predominantly Shiite
neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, where two suicide attackers wearing
explosives blew themselves up in the Shalal market, which was crowded with
shoppers seeking provisions on the eve of the Muslim day of rest and prayer.
At least 82 people were killed and 102 were wounded, police and hospital
officials said.
The Imam Ali hospital in nearby Sadr City was packed with the wounded on
Friday, with two children lying in one bed, according to AP Television News
video.
The Shaab neighborhood was one of the first that U.S. and Iraqi forces
tackled when the security crackdown for which President Bush has committed
nearly 30,000 additional troops to dampen what had become uncontrollable
violence in the capital. It also was the scene of a bombing nearly two weeks
ago in which officials said a car bomber used children as decoys to get near
the busy complex of shops and street vendors.
That attack occurred about two hours after three suicide car bombers struck
a market in Khalis, a mainly Shiite town 50 miles north of the capital.
The drivers of the three suicide vehicle bombs, including an
explosives-packed ambulance, detonated in a market that was especially
crowded because government flour rations had just arrived for the first time
in six months, TV stations reported. At least 43 people were killed and 86
wounded, police said.
The combined toll from the two bombings was at least 125 people killed and
more than 150 wounded in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose backing is dropping even among fellow
Shiites, issued an angry statement pledging to bring bombers and their
backers to justice.
"We call on you (Iraqis) not to allow the evil ones to triumph and to
cooperate with your armed forces. ... Justice will reach them sooner or
later," he said.
Violence has increasingly erupted in towns and cities outside the capital in
recent weeks, as insurgent fighters take their fight to regions where U.S.
and Iraqi forces are thinly deployed. The U.S. military and its diplomats
have voiced cautious optimism about the sweep that began Feb. 14 and
emphasized that the full American surge force would not be in place until
June.
On Wednesday, Shiite militants and police went on a shooting rampage against
Sunnis in the far northwestern city of Tal Afar, killing as many as 70 men
execution-style. The killings were triggered by twin truck bombings there
the previous day that killed 80 people and wounded 185.
The Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella group of insurgent and terror
groups - including al-Qaida - claimed responsibility for the Tal Afar
bombing attack in an Internet statement.
Provincial police chief Brig. Abdul-Karim al-Jibouri said 18 policemen
suspected in the case were back in custody, a day after authorities said
they had been released.
New U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, meanwhile, presented his credentials to
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
In the meeting, Zebari reiterated his stance that 15 British sailors and
marines recently detained by Iran were "captured inside Iraqi territorial
waters and were working in Iraq as part of the multinational force at the
request of the Iraqi government."
Zebari, who called for the release of the British captives earlier this
week, also said his government was in contact with Iran to "ensure the wise
handling of the case."
The incident has put Iraq in a difficult position as it tries to secure
Baghdad with the help of coalition forces while maintaining ties with its
neighbors, including U.S. rivals Iran and Syria.
The Iraqi government called on the sides to keep the tensions from spilling
over its border after the U.S. detained five Iranians in January in northern
Iraq, accusing them of being part of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard force
that provides funds, weapons and training to Shiite militias in Iraq. Tehran
had insisted that the five detained Iranians were engaged exclusively in
consular work.
Muqtada Al-Sadr Blames U.S. for Iraq Woes
NewsMax.com Wires Friday, March 30, 2007
BAGHDAD -- The radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a scathing attack on
the United States on Friday, following one of the country's bloodiest days,
blaming Washington for Iraq's troubles and calling for a mass demonstration
April 9 - the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
As al-Sadr's remarks were read in a mosque, Shiites in Baghdad loaded wooden
coffins into vans and shoveled broken glass and other debris into
wheelbarrows in the aftermath of a double suicide bombing at a marketplace.
At least 181 people were killed or found dead Thursday as Sunni insurgents
apparently stepped up their campaign of bombings to derail the
seven-week-old security sweep in Baghdad.
Al-Sadr's statement was his first since March 14, when he urged his
supporters to resist U.S. forces in Iraq through peaceful means. Al-Sadr has
been said by U.S. and Iraqi officials to be in neighboring Iran, but his
aides insist he is still in Iraq.
The latest statement was read to worshippers during Friday prayers at a
mosque in Kufa, a Shiite holy city south of Baghdad where al-Sadr frequently
led the ritual.
"I renew my call for the occupier (the United States) to leave our land," he
said in the statement, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
"The departure of the occupier will mean stability for Iraq, victory for
Islam and peace and defeat for terrorism and infidels."
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militiamen fought U.S. troops in 2004 but have
generally cooperated with an ongoing U.S.-Iraqi security push in Baghdad,
blamed the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq for the rising violence, lack of
services and sectarian bloodshed.
"You, oppressed people of Iraq, let the entire world hear your voice that
you reject occupation, destruction and terrorism," he said in calling for
the April 9 demonstration.
"Fly Iraqi flags atop homes, apartment buildings and government departments
to show the sovereignty and independence of Iraq, and that you reject the
presence of American flags and those of other nations occupying our beloved
Iraq. Keep them there until they leave our land," he said.
Also on Friday, coalition forces detained a suspect who the U.S. military
said was linked to networks bringing sophisticated roadside bombs into Iraq.
The suspect, who was detained during a raid in the Shiite militia stronghold
of Sadr City, was believed to be tied to networks bringing the weapons known
as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, into Iraq, the military said.
It did not identify the suspect or the groups he was accused of having ties
to, but the U.S. military has asserted in recent months that Iran's
Revolutionary Guards and Quds force have been providing Shiite militias with
weapons and parts for sophisticated armor-piercing bombs. The EFPs are
responsible for the deaths of more than 170 American and coalition soldiers
since mid-2004, the military says.
The U.S. military also said a soldier was killed and another was wounded
Thursday during a patrol in southern Baghdad, raising to at least 3,245 the
number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began in 2003,
according to an AP count.
Thursday's deadliest bombing was in Shaab, a predominantly Shiite
neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, where two suicide attackers wearing
explosives blew themselves up in the Shalal market, which was crowded with
shoppers seeking provisions on the eve of the Muslim day of rest and prayer.
At least 82 people were killed and 102 were wounded, police and hospital
officials said.
The Imam Ali hospital in nearby Sadr City was packed with the wounded on
Friday, with two children lying in one bed, according to AP Television News
video.
The Shaab neighborhood was one of the first that U.S. and Iraqi forces
tackled when the security crackdown for which President Bush has committed
nearly 30,000 additional troops to dampen what had become uncontrollable
violence in the capital. It also was the scene of a bombing nearly two weeks
ago in which officials said a car bomber used children as decoys to get near
the busy complex of shops and street vendors.
That attack occurred about two hours after three suicide car bombers struck
a market in Khalis, a mainly Shiite town 50 miles north of the capital.
The drivers of the three suicide vehicle bombs, including an
explosives-packed ambulance, detonated in a market that was especially
crowded because government flour rations had just arrived for the first time
in six months, TV stations reported. At least 43 people were killed and 86
wounded, police said.
The combined toll from the two bombings was at least 125 people killed and
more than 150 wounded in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose backing is dropping even among fellow
Shiites, issued an angry statement pledging to bring bombers and their
backers to justice.
"We call on you (Iraqis) not to allow the evil ones to triumph and to
cooperate with your armed forces. ... Justice will reach them sooner or
later," he said.
Violence has increasingly erupted in towns and cities outside the capital in
recent weeks, as insurgent fighters take their fight to regions where U.S.
and Iraqi forces are thinly deployed. The U.S. military and its diplomats
have voiced cautious optimism about the sweep that began Feb. 14 and
emphasized that the full American surge force would not be in place until
June.
On Wednesday, Shiite militants and police went on a shooting rampage against
Sunnis in the far northwestern city of Tal Afar, killing as many as 70 men
execution-style. The killings were triggered by twin truck bombings there
the previous day that killed 80 people and wounded 185.
The Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella group of insurgent and terror
groups - including al-Qaida - claimed responsibility for the Tal Afar
bombing attack in an Internet statement.
Provincial police chief Brig. Abdul-Karim al-Jibouri said 18 policemen
suspected in the case were back in custody, a day after authorities said
they had been released.
New U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, meanwhile, presented his credentials to
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
In the meeting, Zebari reiterated his stance that 15 British sailors and
marines recently detained by Iran were "captured inside Iraqi territorial
waters and were working in Iraq as part of the multinational force at the
request of the Iraqi government."
Zebari, who called for the release of the British captives earlier this
week, also said his government was in contact with Iran to "ensure the wise
handling of the case."
The incident has put Iraq in a difficult position as it tries to secure
Baghdad with the help of coalition forces while maintaining ties with its
neighbors, including U.S. rivals Iran and Syria.
The Iraqi government called on the sides to keep the tensions from spilling
over its border after the U.S. detained five Iranians in January in northern
Iraq, accusing them of being part of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard force
that provides funds, weapons and training to Shiite militias in Iraq. Tehran
had insisted that the five detained Iranians were engaged exclusively in
consular work.
