BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 12, 2008
Militants Fight On Despite Calls For Calm
Followers Of Al-Sadr Clash Following Assassination Of Cleric's Aide; 1 U.S. Soldier Killed By Roadside Bomb
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An Iraqi Army soldier removes razor wire as he lets cars out of the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Baghdad, April 12, 2008. On Saturday Iraqi authorities lifted a two-week ban on vehicle movement in Sadr City. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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A child is treated for wounds suffered overnight, in a hospital in eastern Baghdad, April 12, 2008. The U.S. military says security forces have killed at least 13 militants in overnight clashes there. (AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)
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An Iraqi man sits by a vegetable market stand that was destroyed in an air strike carried out in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, April 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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An Iraqi woman shouts slogans demanding the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq during a demonstration organized by the Independent Federation of Iraqi Trade Unions in downtown Baghdad, Saturday, April 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
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Interactive Attacks Map Details on the insurgency and terrorism that has continued to take lives since the fall of Saddam.
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Interactive Iraq: 5 Years At War Five years after the U.S.-led invasion, the war wears on.
At least 13 Shiite militants died in the clashes, which erupted Friday night and tapered off early Saturday, the U.S. military said. Iraqi police reported seven civilians were killed as a result of the fighting between U.S and government troops and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.
Al-Sadr blamed the Americans and their Iraqi allies for the assassination Friday of one of his top aides, Riyadh al-Nouri, director of his office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf. Gunmen ambushed al-Nouri as he was returning home from Friday prayers.
A curfew was declared in Najaf to prevent a violent backlash by al-Sadr supporters, but it was lifted Saturday.
In Sadr City, a U.S. statement said American soldiers used Abrams main battle tanks and drone-fired Hellfire missiles in support of troops who came under sniper and rocket attack while trying to erect concrete barriers in the area.
Two armored vehicles were damaged by at least 10 roadside bombs that exploded during the operation, but there were no casualties among the U.S. and Iraqi soldiers, the military said.
The U.S. said a total of 13 extremists were killed in the various encounters.
Iraqi police and hospital officials said the seven civilians died in one of the Hellfire missile strikes.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to release information. It was impossible to verify the reports independently. Sadr City is the principal stronghold of the Mahdi Army in the Baghdad area.
Government troops supported by the U.S. military have been fighting for nearly two weeks to seal off Sadr City, which has a population of about 2.5 million, after militants there fired rockets and mortars at the U.S.-protected Green Zone and other major targets.
A ban on entering and leaving the district was supposed to have been lifted on Saturday. But eyewitnesses said the blocked-off entrances were briefly opened at 9 a.m., only to be closed again after about 10 minutes.
Police later announced that one of the entrances had been opened to motor traffic. Army patrols used loudspeakers to warn residents to keep off the streets, saying the rebels had planted roadside bombs which needed to be cleared by the security forces.
The conflict in Sadr City is part of a major power struggle within the Shiite community ahead of provincial elections expected this fall.
In the southern port of Basra, Iraq's second largest city, the Iraqi army said it had started carrying out "the second phase of operations" by conducting a sweep of the city's Qibla district, looking for illegal weapons, ammunition and wanted criminals.
Last month, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the military to confront Shiite militias and gangs in Basra, but the offensive quickly faltered amid fierce resistance.
In Other Developments:
The announcement raises to at least 19 American troop deaths reported in the past week. Many of those have occurred in predominantly Shiite areas in Baghdad that have seen fierce fighting between Shiite militia and U.S.-Iraqi troops.
In all, at least 4,032 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. That figure includes 3,892 Americans killed since May 1, 2003, the day President George W. Bush announced the end of "major combat" operations in Iraq.
A city spokesman says 12 bodies found today had been dumped in one grave not far from the local office of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement. He says two others were buried together nearby.
The city official and an Iraqi army officer say confessions by recently detained Shiite militiamen led to the grisly discovery. Iraqi troops found the remains of 30 other people believed to have been killed more than a year ago in three abandoned houses elsewhere in the area on Thursday.
West Qurna field, located about 40 miles west of Basra, is among Iraq's 10 "super giant" fields with its reserves estimated between 15 to 21 billion barrels, according to Iraqi Oil Ministry and Energy Information Administration.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry has said it is also negotiating with Royal Dutch Shell PLC, BP PLC, ExxonMobil Corp. to increase crude production in four other fields and under the same agreement.
Iraq has the world's third-largest oil reserves, totaling more than 115 billion barrels. Iraq's average production for February was 2.4 million barrels per day and exports averaged 1.93 million barrels per day.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 39 Comments
- To Macusweil: Are you implying that if we gave more condoms away in schools that Sadr would be less of a problem? Are is it that it is Sunday and you want to preach?
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- Not that anyone has objected, but we have switched sides in Iraq. These new bff''s of ours, The Sons of Iraq who are now on our payroll, were the bad guys for the first 4 years after the invasion. Now, just like SURVIVOR after the merge, these old Sunnis/ Baathists, the last throes of the elite republican guard, have a new name for their tribe. No one seems concerned that they have killed 3500+ Americans. Trinculo the clown beds with the native monster Caliban, cowering together in shared misery.
I do not believe the neo-cons have come so far without a plan, but they have finally googled a middle eastern map OF THE REGION and they discovered nobody likes the Shia. Well, Iran does, but none of the cool nations like them either.. The USA was the new kid in school who picked the wrong crowd.
So the answer? Back to the basics I would guess. Pick a mini-me Saddam from the ranks of the old republican guard, without the irritating independent streak. Arm him with...you guessed it: WMD. Add more shock. More awe. An October Surprise.
McCain with Robert Gates as VP and Petraeus as Sec of Defense.
But there may be over a million Iraqi dead since the 2003 invasion, and now the US is killing Shia in Sadr city. There are 2.5 million of them. And Iran is mesmerized (who isnt?) by all that black shiny oil, and there are millions of them who will resist another Sunni takeover. But I do believe that is the administration''s plan, or final solution...no offense intended. - Reply to this comment
- The article "Militants Fight On Despite Calls For Calm" is one of many examples of why there is no victory possible in Iraq. Another is in todays news that 1,600 soldiers and police were dismissed by the Iraqi Government for failing to carry out their duties.
What a surprise when all one has to do is look way back to the Gulf War and watch Iraqi soldiers give up to members of the media. The abilites of both the Iraqi military and police continue to put into question if the US military withdrew, would the Iraqi''s be able to provide for their own security.
The answer is obviously they would not. The only ones that appear not to realize that is President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary Robert Gates, and those members of Congress that are still hawks on the War.
The American people overall seem to understand it. Other Nations around the world do as well. Numbers of current and retired members of the US miltary are of the same opinion. What is it that the Bush Administration knows that all of those people do not?
Nothing other than their stuborn pride being hurt. - Reply to this comment
- TheGateway1 - Are you trying to make some kind of point by saying Bill Clinton received a donation from Saudi Arabia...What about King George??? Wasn''t he the guy holding their hands as they visited the White House? We are in a world economy. Money comes from everywhere.
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- TO BE A "GOOD" REPUBLICAN, YOU NEED TO BELIEVE:
1. Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.
2. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush''s Daddy made war on him , a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can''t find Bin Laden" diversion.
3. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Viet Nam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.
4. The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
5. A woman can''t be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multinational drug corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans'' benefits and combat pay.
7. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won''t have ***.
8. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our longtime allies, then demand their cooperation and money.
9. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMO''s and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.
10. Global warming and tobacco''s link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. - Reply to this comment
- Bill Clinton''''s presidential library raised more than 10 percent of the cost of its $165 million facility from foreign sources, with the most generous overseas donation coming from Saudi Arabia, according to interviews yesterday.
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Posted by TheGateway1 at 03:49 AM : Apr 13, 2008
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ROFLMAO ONLY a NAZI would compare OUR fininacial situation as a NATION the the funds raised by a former President for his Library. NO wonder you freaks took us from a Balanced Budget and a Surplus to RECORD DEFICITS and a RECORD DEBT of 9.3 TRILLION Dollars. Just to give you folks an Idea of what that''s all about, the debt in this nation is rapidly approaching $40,000.00 PER PERSON! That''s EVERY MAN, WOMAN, and CHILD in this nation. Oh! But it doesn''t end there...Oh NO! That debt cost you and me $430 BILLION Dollars last year alone just to pay the interest... But there''s MORE!! It''s growing at the rate of ONE MILLION DOLLARS A minute. But let''s compare that to the Presidentual Library of Bill Clinton!! ROFLMAO What a riot! Sieg Heil Bush - Reply to this comment
- That''''s because you only work with liberal dogma and refuse to look for the information.
Try a 5 minute search, you''''ll find the info. Tell us honestly you even tried.
The actual article is much longer than this quote:
http://www.mafhoum.com/press7/
194P4.htm
"According to sources in the Shiite leadership in the city of Kum, Muktada al-Sadr received guarantees (during his July 2003 visit to Iran) for financial and moral support in exchange for his recognition of the Iranian spiritual Shiite leadership as a source of Shiite religious and political authority. Sadr was purportedly also urged to accept the revolutionary Iranian Islamic doctrine and face off against the traditional Iraqi Shiite leadership headed by Ayatollah Sistani."
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Posted by TheGateway1 at 03:45 AM : Apr 13, 2008
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LOL So YOU say the article YOU posted shows that Sadr is Iran''s Political Puppet! Typical Nazi... outside your OWN superiortity you have NO knowledge!! Let''s put this in some prospective that YOU can understand MORON. Iran has the superior Army and has INVADED Mexico. With me so far? We do not wish to have Iran dominate the nation on our most southern boarder and there is a resistence group there that want Iran OUT... we offer them help. COMMON SENSE? EVEN TO A FULL BLOWN NAZI that has to make sense? Sieg Heil Bush - Reply to this comment
- Good, let em blow each other off the map- not our problem, pull out and let ''er fall flat on her face.
- Reply to this comment
- "$265 Million per day of the American taxpayers money for this squanto, borrowed by Bush each day from the communist Red Chinese and the Saudi Arabians, home of the 9-11 murderers.
Posted by kissamaarse at 11:48 PM : Apr 12, 2008"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121402124_pf.html
"Clinton Library Got Funds From Abroad
Saudis Said to Have Given $10 Million
By John Solomon and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, December 15, 2007; A03
Bill Clinton''s presidential library raised more than 10 percent of the cost of its $165 million facility from foreign sources, with the most generous overseas donation coming from Saudi Arabia, according to interviews yesterday.
The royal family of Saudi Arabia gave the Clinton facility in Little Rock about $10 million, roughly the same amount it gave toward the presidential library of George H.W. Bush, according to people directly familiar with the contributions.
The presidential campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has for months faced questions about the source of the money for her husband''s presidential library. During a September debate, moderator Tim Russert asked the senator whether her husband would release a donor list. Clinton said she was sure her husband would "be happy to consider that," though the former president later declined to provide a list of donors." - Reply to this comment
- "The facts are hard for you Sadr and Iranian supporters to accept. Iraq does not want Sadr involved with their politics; he is Iran''''''''s religious and political puppet....
Posted by yongamerica at 03:08 PM : Apr 12, 2008
You know this how?? You Nazi''''s always have these points of Knowledge and NO one can find them anywhere else...
Posted by MCVet at 04:39 PM : Apr 12, 2008"
That''s because you only work with liberal dogma and refuse to look for the information.
Try a 5 minute search, you''ll find the info. Tell us honestly you even tried.
The actual article is much longer than this quote:
http://www.mafhoum.com/press7/194P4.htm
"According to sources in the Shiite leadership in the city of Kum, Muktada al-Sadr received guarantees (during his July 2003 visit to Iran) for financial and moral support in exchange for his recognition of the Iranian spiritual Shiite leadership as a source of Shiite religious and political authority. Sadr was purportedly also urged to accept the revolutionary Iranian Islamic doctrine and face off against the traditional Iraqi Shiite leadership headed by Ayatollah Sistani." - Reply to this comment
- Maliki; "Well the US and I are trying to kill your leader, who may just be the most powerful and popular alternative to us, but you really shouldn''t fight us, just let us take him out, and you all can peacefully become our slaves."
- Reply to this comment
- $265 Million per day of the American taxpayers money for this squanto, borrowed by Bush each day from the communist Red Chinese and the Saudi Arabians, home of the 9-11 murderers.
- Reply to this comment
- It''s nice to know the U.S. oil companies are making deals and making money off this.
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- Of course they''re going to keep fighting! Maliki and the Americans haven''t stopped fighting against them, despite all the rhetoric, so why would anyone expect the Mahdi army to just stop?
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its his opinion you whackjob!! thats all you post on here ...you have no facts....his opinions are more believable than yours because his isnt full of "swastika breaths" "bootlickers" or "sieg heil bush"
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Posted by jamesm12341 at 05:30 PM : Apr 12, 2008
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Sarge makes REAL HONEST points here... things that can ONLY be discovered in REAL combat. What do you do? YOU attack HIM PERSONALLY. Has it crossed your very small mind that YOU prove what he says about you? YOU are a fascist and of that there is NO doubt.- Reply to this comment
- If an Iraqi fights against a foreign occupier, shouldn''t he be considered a patriot. After all, he''s fighting for the future of the country he was born in. The insurgency was caused by the invading army.
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- The attack on Basra showed everyone just how unenthusiastic the predominantly Shia army is about attacking fellow Shia. If the attacks on the Shia of Baghdad continue, you could well see the Army desert him. If he is using Sunni formations, you may see them do more than that.
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- The only calls for calm seem to be coming from al Sadr. His militia is responding however to the US led incursions into the area and the continued outrages being perpetrated by the Regime.
If anything, this will cost al Maliki considerable Shia support and he will have to compensate for this by appeals to the Sunnis....which will lead to even more Shia desertions. The life of a Quisling is not a happy one--or, thankfully, a long one. - Reply to this comment
- The facts are hard for you Sadr and Iranian supporters to accept. Iraq does not want Sadr involved with their politics; he is Iran''''s religious and political puppet. Sadr''''s army will fall to an ashen ruins and the remains will run to their fearless leader hiding in Iran. The Iraqi people doesn''''t want the likes of him running loose in their country.
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Posted by yongamerica at 03:08 PM : Apr 12, 2008
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You know this how?? You Nazi''s always have these points of Knowledge and NO one can find them anywhere else...except from the Reich of course, who has never told us the truth about Iraq. You freaks has NEVER been in such a situation and the evidence is so obvious even a child could see it. When you are entering the 6th YEAR of a 6 MONTH war Sparky the Resistence IS much stronger than you even have a clue about. Now take your Magic Swastika off to a corner and let the adults deal with the situation. Sieg Heil Bush - Reply to this comment
- Sadr city is a self proclaimed name to a domain he claimed after assassinating his religious rivals.
This portion of Baghdad has used as an headquarters, a supply depot and safe haven for the proxy Iranian army. This army and its support network must be disassembled swiftly. Sadr is already calling for peace because he''s not ready to fight, yet. The Iraqi army cannot let the fight be on his or the Iranian terms so the action to return Sadr''s lair to the city will continue until his followers run to their fearless leader hiding in Iran. - Reply to this comment
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