Shiite Cleric Pulls Fighters Off Streets

Al-Sadr Offers Truce If Government Ends Raids, Releases Imprisoned Followers

(CBS/AP)  In a possible turning point in the recent upsurge in violence, Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Shiite militiamen off the streets Sunday but called on the government to stop its raids against his followers.

The government welcomed the move, which followed intense negotiations by Shiite officials, including two lawmakers who reportedly traveled to Iran to ask religious authorities there to intervene.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose Tuesday offensive in the oil-rich southern city in Basra sparked the crisis, called al-Sadr's statement "a step in the right direction."

But fighting continued in the Basra area after the announcement. Seven people also were killed when a mortar struck a residential district in Baghdad's Karradah district, and witnesses reported clashes in the Shula area in a northern section of the capital.

A U.S. soldier also was killed Sunday in a roadside bombing north of Baghdad, the military said, raising to at least 4,008 American service members who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The nine-point statement by the anti-American cleric - which was broadcast through Shiite mosques in Baghdad and across the south - called for an end to the "armed presence" in Basra and other cities and urged followers "to cooperate with the government to achieve security."

Al-Sadr, however, also demanded that the Iraqi government stop "illegal and haphazard raids" and release security detainees who haven't been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.

The Sadrists have complained that the government has released few of their followers under a new amnesty law, which they complain has favored Sunnis who have recently joined with the Americans to fight al Qaeda.

The cleric's decision offered way out of a widening Shiite conflict at a time when government forces appeared to be making little headway against the well-armed militias in Basra.

Al-Sadr's order stopped short of calling on his fighters to disarm. And the government insisted it would still target "outlaws."

Iraqi authorities in Baghdad said a citywide curfew would be lifted Monday morning, although a vehicle ban remained on three strongholds of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in the capital.

---

London's Daily Telegraph reports that some members of al-Sadr's militant army are driving American-issued Humvees, given to them by sympathizers within the Iraqi Army. Some Iraqi service members are even defecting to al-Sadr's forces.

---

Before al-Sadr's statement, dozens of Shiite gunmen Sunday stormed a government TV facility in central Basra, forcing Iraqi troops guarding the building to flee and setting armored vehicles on fire.

One of al-Maliki's top security officials also was killed in a mortar attack in Basra, officials said. The prime minister's Dawa party issued a statement of condolences identifying the slain official as Salim Qassim, known by his nickname Abu Laith al-Kadhimi.

In an effort to curb the growing violence, two senior Shiite lawmakers close to al-Maliki - Hadi al-Amri and Ali al-Adeeb - traveled to Iran and asked authorities there to stop the flow of weapons to al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, according to two officials.

The lawmakers - both of whom have close ties to Iran - also asked the Iranians to pressure al-Sadr to come up with a face-saving initiative, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Iran is believed to supply weapons, money and training to all major Shiite factions in Iraq, including the Mahdi Army as well as groups closely allied with the Americans.

Scattered firing could be heard in central Baghdad hours after al-Sadr's statement was released, and rockets or mortars were fired toward the Green Zone, where U.S. diplomats were holed up in the embassy at Saddam Hussein's former palace and ordered to stay under hard cover as the sprawling area has come under frequent fire this week.

At least seven Iraqis were killed and 21 wounded when two rounds apparently fell short, striking houses in the commercial district of Karradah, police said.

Suspected Mahdi Army gunmen also attacked an Iraqi checkpoint in eastern Baghdad, killing six troops, police said. The attack came hours after al-Sadr's statement was issued by his office in the holy city of Najaf.

The strength of the resistance to the week-old offensive has taken the U.S.-backed government by surprise, forcing it to bring in reinforcements as the number of Iraqi security forces involved in the effort topped 30,000.

The prime minister, himself a Shiite, has called the fight "a decisive and final battle," although he acknowledged later that he may have miscalculated by failing to foresee the strong backlash the offensive would provoke.

An estimated 400 people have been killed as fighting spread to Baghdad neighborhoods and other southern cities.

Several clashes have involved U.S. forces and the U.S. military launched air strikes in Basra and American special forces were on the ground helping the Iraqi ground troops. The military said 16 enemy fighters were killed when an AC-130 gunship strafed heavily armed militants attacking Iraqi troops during clashes on Saturday.

The Shiite violence threatened to jeopardize recent security gains due to an influx of American troops, a Sunni revolt against al Qaeda in Iraq and al-Sadr's cease-fire that was announced in August.

Attacks bearing the hallmark of al Qaeda militants also continued in northern Iraq.

A suicide car bomber killed five U.S.-backed Sunni fighters and wounded eight other people near the oil hub of Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad.

Gunmen also killed five policemen in Duluiyah, a Sunni-dominated area 45 miles north of Baghdad.

The U.S. military said separately that American and Iraqi troops unearthed 14 badly decomposed bodies in a mass grave on Saturday in Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad. It was the second such find since Thursday, when 37 bodies were found.

[beehive21-2009]

No.no truce for the Fatman,arrest him ,arrest him ,now fly him to Cuba and interrogate him.

[underdogus]

Muqtada Al-Sadr declares three days of mourning for jihad terrorist Imad Mughniya
CLERIC FEELFREE1 DECLARES FOUR DAYS OF MOURNING!!

[payasyougo]

History shows that criminals such as Al-Sadr use cease fires solely to restock, recruit and re-arm or otherwise strengthen their position.

Just gives that warm fuzzy that a similar cease fire between the SFPD and local gangs in California would result in one big peacful, happy family.

[freakout101-2009]

"We are victims of random air strikes by Americans, they are bombing our houses," said one resident who gave only his nickname, Abu Abbas.

The are also good at shooting down civilian jet liners and their last dog fight was with an un armed Libian trianer plane. F*ck US and A barbarian scum.

[underdogus]

Cleric FloydZepp CALLS ON FOLLOWERS NEVER SURRENDER!!JIHAD!!!

[demslie]

Isn''t is Amazing how Democrats show endless symphaty and understanding for genocidal murderers like Al Sadr but, the Americans, no they are guilty of everything. Al Sadr spent the last six months of "Stand Down" sending millions of dollars in weapons to his Army from his exile in IRAN. IRAN''s government has pledged to fully support Al Sadr in his war with the United States. Yet not one word of anger from Democrats toward the terrorist Al Sadr or the terrorist supporters in the Iranian Government. Nope, Just Like Al Qaeda, Al Sadr, Iran and terrorists, Democrats have only one enemy, America.

[underdogus]

F*ck US and A barbarian scum.

Posted by freakout101 ette boy come out of the closet radical muslim!

[freakout101-2009]

Posted by singinrick08 at 10:12 AM : Mar 30, 2008

What is the new US plane? The Raptor or the Rapture?
Hows the Afghan arms sales going? I hear Israel is building a new billion dollar Hasidic Temple. Coincidence? Maybe you should go there and wait for the rapture... $400 a night....LOL!

[freakout101-2009]

F*ck US and A barbarian scum.

Posted by freakout101 ette boy come out of the closet radical muslim!

Posted by underdogus at 10:16 AM : Mar 30, 2008

They are donkeys, you are maggots...LMAO!

[freakout101-2009]

We''ll bring you the news singinrick08, when the rapture comes. Maybe Jesus will visit you in the FEMA camp.

[freakout101-2009]

History shows that criminals such as Al-Sadr use cease fires solely to restock, recruit and re-arm or otherwise strengthen their position.

Posted by singinrick08 at 10:20 AM : Mar 30, 2008

Either that or a delay in his check cashing until Binex launders the drug money.

[freakout101-2009]

"The Bini Group, Member of Binex, Sure Footed Service Using US troopers since 2001".

[pollroller1]

Looks like Al-Sadr is going to get his cut of the oil money.
If you can''t beat him, just give him a cut of the billions of dollars that are being made from this war in Iraq.

[freakout101-2009]

Binex need more sure footing... must be where all the legs are going?

[freakout101-2009]

Bectel is sick of having to buy an extra filter for beard wiskers. Al-Sadr won''t tell his workers to wear the paper mask or shave.

[mrmazerati]

Over five years and the Iraqis still haven''t gotten their act together. What''s their major malfunction?

[beehive21-2009]

This story is BS. What''''s not, Diesel fuel is $ 4.09 / gal.,went to the store everything has gone up,loaf of wheat bread $ 4.99 of course the cheap one cost $ 1.99/ loaf,4 four ears corn 4.99 ? What happening ? You think Basra surprised ya,wait ,the sleeping Giant is going to kick the evil greedy hell out someone.Chevrontexaco your in trouble along with all you greedy punks ,we will not take it any more,yell out the window i''''m mad and will not take it anymore.

[missingamerica]

"...inspected a lone cargo truck carrying produce and a child waving a white flag in the back...."

This war is doing a fine job of making me feel guilty about ever resenting having to help mow the yard as a kid.

At least I didn''t have to wave a white flag to try to convince people not to lob mortars at the old Briggs & Stratton.

[freakout101-2009]

I got to bid on the contract to sell arms to Afghanastan. I''ll send some of my own al-Freakout fighters to collect them from the battle field and sell them back to the US.

[freakout101-2009]

At least I didn''''t have to wave a white flag to try to convince people not to lob mortars at the old Briggs & Stratton.
Posted by ibsteve2u at 10:35 AM : Mar 30, 2008

Maybe your son will when the invade Iran.

[underdogus]

rastamanfreakout101 ..smoking the ganja again huh?

Rather than torching these military vehicles why don''t they at least convert them to ambulances, thereby beating their weapons into plows.

Rather than torching these military vehicles why don''t they at least convert them to ambulances, thereby beating their weapons into plows.

[underdogus]

freakout101 c,c,can we all just get along? lets hugh a tree........

[glossypan]

$275,000,000 per DAY to occupy Iraq.
Much of that total is cash payments to the warring factions.
We are, for all practical purposes, borrowing money from China and Saudi Arabia to pay Iraqis to mot kill one another.
Even if the purpose of the invasion was righteous, the policies and procedures of the occupation are catastrophic for our nation.

[rowdytexan2]

I guess Mr. Cheney''s sending al-Malaki after the Sadr''s was another miscalculation. He thought he could just have those opposed to the privitizing of Iraqi oil genocided in one swell foop!

Surprise, Mr. Cheney!

[missingamerica]

Maybe your son will when the invade Iran.

Posted by freakout101 at 10:38 AM : Mar 30, 2008

I doubt - I told my son about how, although it is the Republicans who always sing the praises of dying in their wars, their kids never go.

So when you come back after your time, you find that those whose parents shout the loudest for wars are years ahead of you in the game of climbing the corporate ladder.

Worse, something - probably a combination of guilt and your military attitude of "To hell with politics - lead, follow, or get out of the way." - makes them uncomfortable around you, and they will actively work to suppress your advancement.

My son is now in a top tier university, and his powers of observation are telling him how miraculous it is that the oh-so-vociferous "Young Republicans" have a significant absence of the backbone required for them to walk their talk.

Dying in battle, you see, is not something the advantaged do.

[freakout101-2009]

rastamanfreakout101 ..smoking the ganja again huh?

Posted by underdogus at 10:40 AM : Mar 30, 2008

I gotta be careful not to blast the Bob Marly too loud so the Orthodox don''t protest out side my house...LOL! Something about Marly is a code name for Jesus?????

[kesac4650]

Sad''r just blinked. For those wanting to know why the Iraqi government has yet to get it''s act together, just consider the effect it has when the person with the most popular votes to become President next year is promising to bail out on them and leave them to the mercy of Sad''r and crew.
They are afraid to fight, and just about as afraid not to fight, because their lives just might be handed over to him next yrear.

[displeased]

Even if the purpose of the invasion was righteous, the policies and procedures of the occupation are catastrophic for our nation.
Posted by glossypan

The purpose of invading Afghanistan was justified, the purpose of invading Iraq was the unjustified corporate greed.

[pastdue1]

This offensive was Al-Sadr''s way of letting the Iraqi government, the US military and the rest of the world know that it really was him, not the surge that made for the uneasy peace in Iraq. It also gives him the opportunity to demand from the Iraqi government and the US military what he wants. How stupid we are for not accepting what is clear to the Iraqi people, they will invariably ally themselves with their own, just as we would under similar circumstances.

[baghdadshere]

"Al-Sadr Offers Truce If Gov''t Halts Raids"

There must be no truce set with criminals like the outlaw Mahdy militia led by that fat pig widely known as Muqtada ( what a funny name)

[freakout101-2009]

underdogsh*t got hit with a bottle when he used Jesus as a curse word. "Goium!!!, Goium!!!, Goium!!! Kill the animal!!!!"

"No, I''m American!, HELP!"....LOL!

[hotpaulie]

Baghdads Here - If you want anything to resemble peace in Iraq you have to deal with al-Sadr diplomatically. King George''s policy of not talking with our "enemies" is a major reason things are the way they are.

[freakout101-2009]

See, the troopers don''t want to go home... too much fun in the ME. In America is like living in a potato sack with the president dragging you out of bed in the morning. You can''t buy enough i-pods to be happy in this sh*t hole.

[missingamerica]

loolllll....the inevitable has happened.

Any time a thread begins to approach a threshold that tips public opinion towards a resolution of the Iraq falsehood, POOF....

Here comes some kind of PNAC-ish *** out of the woodwork...

[displeased]

The challenge for us Christians is not to hate Muslims or anyone else for that matter, but rather to reach out to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,which sets them free.
Posted by singinrick08

Yep, spread your religion and fear like the rest of them.

[freakout101-2009]

Seroiusly, most US troops just like the fact that in the military, you comany is REAL friends. In US and A is all fake smiles and have a nice day... thoughts and prays... but nobody means it.

[displeased]

In US and A is all fake smiles and have a nice day... thoughts and prays... but nobody means it.
Posted by freakout101

Fake smile, fake boob$, self fulfilling ego-centric society.

[baghdadshere]

Bush must be dying in his Offal Office. "Kill, kill!" You can almost hear him from here.

Posted by Nancy_Naive at 10:58 AM : Mar 30, 2008

My sweet Nancy , you hear Bush all the time. He"s in the media all around the globe. Thats what makes him the most popular and the most famous people in the world.

[glossypan]

"The situation on the ground has definitely changed, but not for the reasons the Bush Administration and its generals claim. The main reasons include cash-based deals with Sunni leaders and Shiite leader Muqtada al Sadr%u2019s independent decision earlier this year to temporarily restrain his Mahdi army from attacking U.S. forces." ... Nov 2007 Harper''s magazine - Douglas MacGregor. former Army Colonel and decorated Gulf War veteran.
===========================
We are borrowing billions of dollars from people who are not our friends to pay people who are not our friends to not kill one another.
===========================
An Alice In Wonerland Eternal War - Borrow & Spend policy that John McCain promises to continue.

[baghdadshere]

Baghdads Here - If you want anything to resemble peace in Iraq you have to deal with al-Sadr diplomatically. King George''''s policy of not talking with our "enemies" is a major reason things are the way they are.

Posted by hotpaulie at 10:53 AM : Mar 30, 2008

Bush never said he doesnt talk to our enemy. He doesnt deal cith terrorists assassins and outlaws such as Muqtada,Bin,Laden,etc,etc

[freakout101-2009]

In US and A is all fake smiles and have a nice day... thoughts and prays... but nobody means it.
Posted by freakout101

Fake smile, fake boob$, self fulfilling ego-centric society.

Posted by Displeased at 11:04 AM : Mar 30, 2008

Most every US soldier says nothing about the war or politics, just want to go to be with their buddies. The US and A is so fake and boring.

I mean the normal troops not the nuts who go to shoot everything in site or torture.

[mcvet]

My sweet Nancy , you hear Bush all the time. He"s in the media all around the globe. Thats what makes him the most popular and the most famous people in the world.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by BaghdadsHere at 11:05 AM : Mar 30, 2008
+ report abuse

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHA Now THAT''s FUNNY!!! Sieg Heil Bush

[underdogus]

cleric muqtada al-freakout101...

[baghdadshere]

Baghdads Here - If you want anything to resemble peace in Iraq you have to deal with al-Sadr diplomatically. King George''''''''s policy of not talking with our "enemies" is a major reason things are the way they are.

Posted by hotpaulie at 10:53 AM : Mar 30, 2008

Muqtada doesnt want to talk. He was waiting for the US troops to withdraw so he could topple Al-Maliki and replace him with a theocracy where he (Muqtada) would be treated like god the way Iranians treat their supreme ayatollah.

[mcvet]

The challenge for us Christians is not to hate Muslims or anyone else for that matter, but rather to reach out to them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,which sets them free.
Posted by singinrick08

Yep, spread your religion and fear like the rest of them.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Displeased at 10:59 AM : Mar 30, 2008
+ report abuse

Folks I am MUCH more afraid of our OWN like this poor bootlicker than any Muslim in the entire world. These creatures gave us the WORST President in US History and would sick by him, through all the lies and distruction of our Country. They are truly the dangerous ones!! Sieg Heil Bush

[mcvet]

Bush never said he doesnt talk to our enemy. He doesnt deal cith terrorists assassins and outlaws such as Muqtada,Bin,Laden,etc,etc


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by BaghdadsHere at 11:08 AM : Mar 30, 2008
+ report abuse

Oh but yes he did Swastika Breath. IF you will go to the 935 LIES told by that piece of Human Trash YOU call a President... to the mass of LIES told before the invasion of this nation that was NO threat to us, you will find that statement. Sieg Heil Bush

[freakout101-2009]

cleric muqtada al-freakout101...

Posted by underdogus at 11:11 AM : Mar 30, 2008

My al-Freakadah followers collect guns on the battle field to sell back to US taxpayers. I''m hoping we get enough profits to buy some new weapons and take over an oil field some day.

[mcvet]

cleric muqtada al-freakout101...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by underdogus at 11:11 AM : Mar 30, 2008
+ report abuse

You seem to have a problem with just about everyone who doesn''t support Sir Lies-A-Lot. Is there a specific reason??? Sieg Heil Bush!!