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February 9, 2008
15 Shiites Detained South of Baghdad
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:45 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi police arrested 15 Shiite activists Saturday in early
morning raids south of Baghdad, and five American soldiers were killed in
two roadside bombings, officials said.
The U.S. troops were killed Friday -- four in Baghdad and one in the
northern Tamim province, the military said. At least 3,958 members of the
U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003,
according to an Associated Press count.
Saturday marked a third day of U.S. and Iraqi operations in an area that
includes several Shiite holy cities -- raising tension with some Shiite
tribesmen and fighters who have pledged to halt attacks. Radical Shiite
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered a six-month cease-fire for his Mahdi Army
militia, but some members have broken away and violated the pledge, which
expires later this month.
U.S. and Iraqi forces say they are targeting rogue, criminal elements of his
and other militias. But several Shiite imams, during Friday prayers,
suggested Iraqi forces were taking advantage of the cease-fire to crack down
on rival groups.
Al-Sadr has threatened not to extend his cease-fire unless the government
purges rival Shiite militiamen he alleges have infiltrated the security
forces and are targeting his followers.
Saturday's arrests took place in Karbala, a Shiite holy city 50 miles south
of Baghdad, where Shiite Islam's two most revered saints are buried.
Rahman Mshawi, spokesman for Karbala police, said four of the 15 suspects
are members of the Iraq-based People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, or
Mujahedeen Khalq.
The group was founded in the late 1960s and fled to Iraq in the early 1980s
after it fell out with the clerical regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
During Saddam Hussein's rule, the movement used Iraq as a base for
operations against Iran's government.
Thousands of its members remain in Iraq, and both the U.S. and Iraq consider
the Khalq a terrorist organization.
In addition to the Khalq members, Mshawi said five others detained Saturday
belong to a Shiite cult group. He did not elaborate or give details about
the group. The remaining six suspects were ''wanted men,'' Mshawi said.
Meanwhile north of Baghdad, Iraqi police said a local al-Qaida in Iraq
leader was killed in his home, and 12 decomposed bodies were discovered in a
mass grave.
Abu Omar al-Dori resisted police for about an hour before he was killed
around 4 a.m. in his house in downtown Samarra, a police officer said. He
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to
media. Samarra is a mostly Sunni town about 60 miles north of the Iraqi
capital.
According to Iraqi police, al-Dori had been assigned to lead al-Qaida in
Iraq operations in Samarra just one week ago. It was unclear whether his
predecessor was killed or captured.
Farther east near Baqouba, a joint patrol of Iraqi police and soldiers found
a mass grave with 12 bodies, including three of women, according to police
and morgue officials. The bodies were found in the al-Ehaimer area on the
outskirts of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of the capital.
The U.S. military had no immediate comment on either incident.
Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani traveled Saturday to Najaf,
another Shiite holy city south of Baghdad, to meeting with Grand Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent cleric. It was unclear whether the
meeting was scheduled in light of the recent Shiite arrests. Talabani was
expected to hold a news conference later Saturday.
15 Shiites Detained South of Baghdad
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:45 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi police arrested 15 Shiite activists Saturday in early
morning raids south of Baghdad, and five American soldiers were killed in
two roadside bombings, officials said.
The U.S. troops were killed Friday -- four in Baghdad and one in the
northern Tamim province, the military said. At least 3,958 members of the
U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003,
according to an Associated Press count.
Saturday marked a third day of U.S. and Iraqi operations in an area that
includes several Shiite holy cities -- raising tension with some Shiite
tribesmen and fighters who have pledged to halt attacks. Radical Shiite
cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered a six-month cease-fire for his Mahdi Army
militia, but some members have broken away and violated the pledge, which
expires later this month.
U.S. and Iraqi forces say they are targeting rogue, criminal elements of his
and other militias. But several Shiite imams, during Friday prayers,
suggested Iraqi forces were taking advantage of the cease-fire to crack down
on rival groups.
Al-Sadr has threatened not to extend his cease-fire unless the government
purges rival Shiite militiamen he alleges have infiltrated the security
forces and are targeting his followers.
Saturday's arrests took place in Karbala, a Shiite holy city 50 miles south
of Baghdad, where Shiite Islam's two most revered saints are buried.
Rahman Mshawi, spokesman for Karbala police, said four of the 15 suspects
are members of the Iraq-based People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, or
Mujahedeen Khalq.
The group was founded in the late 1960s and fled to Iraq in the early 1980s
after it fell out with the clerical regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
During Saddam Hussein's rule, the movement used Iraq as a base for
operations against Iran's government.
Thousands of its members remain in Iraq, and both the U.S. and Iraq consider
the Khalq a terrorist organization.
In addition to the Khalq members, Mshawi said five others detained Saturday
belong to a Shiite cult group. He did not elaborate or give details about
the group. The remaining six suspects were ''wanted men,'' Mshawi said.
Meanwhile north of Baghdad, Iraqi police said a local al-Qaida in Iraq
leader was killed in his home, and 12 decomposed bodies were discovered in a
mass grave.
Abu Omar al-Dori resisted police for about an hour before he was killed
around 4 a.m. in his house in downtown Samarra, a police officer said. He
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to
media. Samarra is a mostly Sunni town about 60 miles north of the Iraqi
capital.
According to Iraqi police, al-Dori had been assigned to lead al-Qaida in
Iraq operations in Samarra just one week ago. It was unclear whether his
predecessor was killed or captured.
Farther east near Baqouba, a joint patrol of Iraqi police and soldiers found
a mass grave with 12 bodies, including three of women, according to police
and morgue officials. The bodies were found in the al-Ehaimer area on the
outskirts of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of the capital.
The U.S. military had no immediate comment on either incident.
Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani traveled Saturday to Najaf,
another Shiite holy city south of Baghdad, to meeting with Grand Ayatollah
Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most prominent cleric. It was unclear whether the
meeting was scheduled in light of the recent Shiite arrests. Talabani was
expected to hold a news conference later Saturday.
