US, Iraqi forces battle Shi'ite militia in Baghdad

[cal04]

U.S. and Iraqi forces raided a suspected death squad in mostly Shi'ite east Baghdad early on Monday, the U.S. military said, and a police source said they fought with militia there for several hours.

The police source said that 18 people had been wounded and two killed in the fighting in Sadr City, a stronghold of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose supporters are part of the ruling Shi'ite coalition.

A U.S. military statement said that Iraqi forces backed by coalition advisers conducted a raid to detain "individuals involved in punishment and torture cell activities," and had come immediately under fire.

One U.S. soldier was hurt in the clash.

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=13098384&src=rss/worldNews

[magellan]

1. Why "death squad" and not "terrorist group"?

By anyone's definition, that's what these militias are.

[DeaconBlues]

2. Will we have a replay of the last Shi'ite uprising in the summer of 2004?

Or something much worse?

[acmavm]

3. If the past is any indication, it will only get worse. It sure as hell

never gets better. And they're picking a fight with the one guy who's made them back down before.

[Az_lefty]

4. Three years after Mission Accomplished...

we're still in the battle for Baghdad. The bush plan is a total fucking failure. Get our people the hell out of there!
:grr: