As we try to take over Sadr City, we can't avoid killing civilians. This will only serve to further alienate the Iraqis and create more problems for us in the end.
Militiamen ambush drives back US patrol in Sadr City
Apr 29, 11:13 PM (ET)
By KIM GAMEL
BAGHDAD (AP) - Dozens of fighters ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's main Shiite militia stronghold Tuesday, firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun bursts as the American push into Sadr City increasingly faces pockets of close urban combat.
U.S. forces struck back with 200-pound guided rockets that devastated at least three buildings in the densely packed district that serves as the Baghdad base for the powerful Mahdi Army militia.
The U.S. military said 28 militiamen were killed as the U.S. patrol pulled back. Local hospital officials said dozens of civilians were killed or wounded.
Such street battles - in tight confines and amid frightened civilians - are increasingly becoming a hallmark of the drive into Sadr City and recall the type of head-on clashes last seen in large numbers during last year's U.S. troop buildup in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
Officials at two local hospitals said about 25 people had died and several dozen were wounded - most civilians.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Facts you will find on Juan Cole but never on strata-sphere.com
"Sadr spokesman Salah al-Obeidi (al-Ubaydi) in Najaf bitterly attacked Iran, accusing it of seeking to share with the US in influence over Iraq. He pointed to the Iranian's regime's failure to condemn the long-term mutual security agreement being crafted by the Bush administration and the al-Maliki government. Al-Obeidi's angry denunciation suggests that Iran is backing PM Nuri al-Maliki and his current chief ally, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim against the Sadr Movement of Muqtada al-Sadr."
Ken,
I had read before that Sadr was a nationalist and not under the thumb of the Iranians and this seems to confirm it.
Post a Comment