Iraq troops fight militias

[ECH1969]

IRAQI security forces fought fierce battles with militias and insurgents in cities across the country overnight as the government struggled to impose its authority.

In the northern city of Mosul, troops and police killed six insurgents linked to a Sunni extremist group and shut down five bridges across the Tigris River in a bid to quell the fighting, police said.

In the far south, in Basra, tensions between a local Shiite tribe and the provincial governor erupted into a firefight in which masked gunmen fired rockets at the government headquarters, killing at least one policeman.

Earlier, Iraqi army troops regained control of the Shiite holy city of Karbala after killing 10 members of a rogue cleric's private army, arresting 281 of his supporters and imposing a strict curfew.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20157140-5001028,00.html

[BOSSHOG]

1. So can our kids come home now?

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. This is one of the major indicators of a civil war.

According to the "experts"

[Teaser]

3. Good news from Iraq!

This time, I'm sure we'll win.

[Dhalgren]

4. This from Juan Cole:

"The Iraqi security forces, probably dominated in Karbala by members of the Badr Corps (originally trained in Iran) came into conflict with with followers of Shaikh Mahmud al-Hasani al-Sarkhi. Al-Hasani is strongly opposed to the continued US presence in Iraq, but is also fanatically anti-Iranian. The violent clashes killed at least 6 persons, including 3 from the Iraqi security forces. Al-Hasani's office claimed that 25 of his followers were killed and 20 wounded. Some 200 of his men were arrested."

So the "Iraqi Army troops" of the article in the OP are actually members of the Badr Corps and the "rogue cleric" is actually anti-Iranian. So this is "good news" for Bush, how? The "security forces" are actually pro-Iranian Badr Corps and the "rogue cleric" is an anti-Iranian militia leader, so the Bushists would be pulling for which one? The Dictator is in so far over his little head in Iraq it is almost comical...almost.

[Heidi]

5. Kick. (nt)

[ECH1969]

6. Rival Shiite Militias Clash in Southern Iraq

Clashes between rival Shiite Muslim militias erupted Wednesday in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, when scores of gunmen stormed the governor's office after accusing his supporters of assassinating their tribal leader.

In once calm southern cities such as Basra and Karbala, a Shiite holy city, fighting between Shiite militias and U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces, as well as among rival Shiite militias, appears to be on the rise.

In Karbala, fierce gun battles erupted Tuesday between the followers of radical cleric Mahmoud Sarkhi al-Hassani and Iraqi security forces who raided his office, leaving seven people dead. The clashes quickly spread to nearby towns.

Tensions also are rising between U.S. and Iraqi forces and the powerful anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is emerging as the main Shiite obstacle to U.S. efforts to establish order and security in Baghdad as well as in the south.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/16/AR2006081601900.html

[ShortnFiery]

7. The meme will soon change to "Iraqi Troops Fight IN Militias"

That headline will be broadcast when we ARE FORCED bring in the Chinooks to extract our troops OUT OF IRAQ. :grr:

Yep, just like Vietnam ---> "We decided to leave as soon as we were KICKED OUT." :(

[Barrett808]

8. Throughout Iraq, deadly trouble seethes again

Throughout Iraq, deadly trouble seethes again
By Paul von Zielbauer The New York Times
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2006

BAGHDAD Iraqi security forces and British troops fought Shiite militias and tribesmen in two major cities south of Baghdad on Wednesday in sustained battles that left two policemen and a dozen militiamen dead and underscored the tenuous grip the Iraqi government maintains even in regions not under the sway of Sunni Arab insurgents.

Also Wednesday, as American and Iraqi Army soldiers continued a security sweep through hostile neighborhoods in western Baghdad, bombings in other parts of the city killed 21 people and wounded 59 others.

Violent eruptions in Karbala, a Shiite holy city about 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, southwest of Baghdad, and in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, demonstrated the destabilizing power of internecine conflicts that have little to do with the anti-American insurgency or sectarian killings.

In Basra, a gun battle erupted between Iraqi Army troops and members of the dominant local tribe, the Bani Asad, apparently angered by the killing on Tuesday of a tribal leader, Faisal Raji al-Asadi, government officials in Basra said.

In a battle that lasted the better part of an hour, tribesmen clad in black clothing fired fusillades of bullets and grenades at the provincial government building, local police and government officials said, and eventually occupied the parts of the government complex.

(more)

http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/08/16/news/iraq.php

[Teaser]

9. again?

nt

[acmavm]

10. I notice with Zaq gone they don't even try to pin it on any one

person anymore. That was their big excuse, Zaq did it.

Now who's fault is it? Besides us cut-and-run dems that is.

[SpiralHawk]

11. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel" - Donald Rumsfeld

"And our Oil Profits are WAY UP !!!" - republicon oil cronies

[saigon68]

12. Yes, that light in the tunnel is the train coming AT YOU