Shiite Cult Aimed to Kill Clerics in Iraqi City

[RickSp]

Shiite Cult Aimed to Kill Clerics in Iraqi City

The gunmen who battled Iraqi and American forces near Najaf on Sunday were members of a Shiite cult that planned to storm the city during a religious festival and kill the nation’s top Shiite clerics, Iraqi officials said today. About 200 members of the group, which called itself “Soldiers From Heaven,” died in the fighting, which lasted until about 4 a.m. today. Iraqi officials said that 60 others were wounded and as many as 120 were captured. Two American soldiers died in the fighting when their helicopter was shot down, and about 10 Iraqi soldiers and police officers were killed. Abdul Hussein Abtan, the deputy governor of Najaf province, gave an interview to Iraqi television from the battlefield, saying he was standing next to the dead body of the group’s leader. Mr. Abtan said the dead man had claimed to be the Imam Mahdi — the missing spiritual leader whom many Shiites believe will return someday to restore justice. “Beside me are a large number of prisoners, hundreds of them,” he said. “There are also hundreds dead.”

This battle is interesting for several reasons:

- We clearly do not understand the complexity or scope of the sectarian violence in Iraq. Here was an example of Shiite vs Shiite conflict. The inital reports blamed Sunni insurgents.

- The struggle is moving beyond the actions of "death squads" and/or insurgent cells. There something like 500-600 fighters among the “Soldiers From Heaven” armed with antiaircraft rockets and long-range sniper rifles as well as automatic weapons.

- Aside from US air support and armor called in late in the fight, the "boots on the ground" were all Iraqis. The Iraqi police and army did the bulk of the fighting.

Given the complexity and the scope of the growing sectarian violence, this would appear to be a good time for the US to start withdrawing. Otherwise we are likely to find ourselves fighting against all sides in a conflict that we clearly do not understand.

[ByaKya]

this is one of the most bizare things ive read recently. i havent even heard of them. their forces were certainly decimated by US airstrikes but they werent annihilated.

We may hear from them again

[notworthabean]

Quote by: ByaKya this is one of the most bizare things ive read recently. i havent even heard of them. their forces were certainly decimated by US airstrikes but they werent annihilated. We may hear from them again

actually Iraqi ground froces were a good part of it too.

[Zeebadee]

Quote by: ByaKya this is one of the most bizare things ive read recently. i havent even heard of them. their forces were certainly decimated by US airstrikes but they werent annihilated. We may hear from them again

For the most part, the losses the insurgents incurred were with the common foot soldier. Easily replaceable in the current conflict. More serious seems to be the recent increased vulnerability of U.S. helicopters. We've lost two or three in the last few days to some type of ground fire. If the insurgents are getting and fielding advanced anti-aircraft weapons, the war will soon take a very negative turn for U.S. forces in Iraq. Helicopters are an absolute necessity for our troops, any serious threat to them will quickly make the U.S. position untenable.

[jose]

There are growing suspicions in Iraq that the official story of the battle outside Najaf between a messianic Iraqi cult and the Iraqi security forces supported by the US, in which 263 people were killed and 210 wounded, is a fabrication. The heavy casualties may be evidence of an unpremeditated massacre. A picture is beginning to emerge of a clash between an Iraqi Shia tribe on a pilgrimage to Najaf and an Iraqi army checkpoint that led the US to intervene with devastating effect. The involvement of Ahmed al-Hassani (also known as Abu Kamar), who believed himself to be the coming Mahdi, or Messiah, appears to have been accidental. The story emerging on independent Iraqi websites and in Arabic newspapers is entirely different from the government's account of the battle with the so-called "Soldiers of Heaven", planning a raid on Najaf to kill Shia religious leaders. The cult denied it was involved in the fighting, saying it was a peaceful movement. The incident reportedly began when a procession of 200 pilgrims was on its way, on foot, to celebrate Ashura in Najaf. They came from the Hawatim tribe, which lives between Najaf and Diwaniyah to the south, and arrived in the Zarga area, one mile from Najaf at about 6am on Sunday. Heading the procession was the chief of the tribe, Hajj Sa'ad Sa'ad Nayif al-Hatemi, and his wife driving in their 1982 Super Toyota sedan because they could not walk. When they reached an Iraqi army checkpoint it opened fire, killing Mr Hatemi, his wife and his driver, Jabar Ridha al-Hatemi. The tribe, fully armed because they were travelling at night, then assaulted the checkpoint to avenge their fallen chief. Members of another tribe called Khaza'il living in Zarga tried to stop the fighting but they themselves came under fire. Meanwhile, the soldiers and police at the checkpoint called up their commanders saying they were under attack from al-Qai'da with advanced weapons. Reinforcements poured into the area and surrounded the Hawatim tribe in the nearby orchards. The tribesmen tried - in vain - to get their attackers to cease fire. American helicopters then arrived and dropped leaflets saying: "To the terrorists, surrender before we bomb the area." The tribesmen went on firing and a US helicopter was hit and crashed killing two crewmen. The tribesmen say they do not know if they hit it or if it was brought down by friendly fire. The US aircraft launched an intense aerial bombardment in which 120 tribesmen and local residents were killed by 4am on Monday.

Independent Online Edition > Middle East

[RickSp]

This version completely contradicts the previous accounts. The Independent article notes:

This account cannot be substantiated and is drawn from the Healing Iraq website and the authoritative Baghdad daily Azzaman.

An earlier verson of events from teh NY Times:

Iraqi forces were surprised and nearly overwhelmed by the ferocity of an obscure renegade militia in a weekend battle near the holy city of Najaf and needed far more help from American forces than previously disclosed, American and Iraqi officials said Monday. They said American ground troops — and not just air support as reported Sunday — were mobilized to help the Iraqi soldiers, who appeared to have dangerously underestimated the strength of the militia, which calls itself the Soldiers of Heaven and had amassed hundreds of heavily armed fighters.

Missteps by Iraqi Forces in Battle Raise Questions

It is unclear why the Iraqi government forces needed so much US help if they were involved in a massacre.

[GHook93]

Quote by: RickSp Shiite Cult Aimed to Kill Clerics in Iraqi City - We clearly do not understand the complexity or scope of the sectarian violence in Iraq. Here was an example of Shiite vs Shiite conflict. The inital reports blamed Sunni insurgents.

This is precisely the reason the conflict is not winnable by the US. There are 100s of separate groups fighting one another. The only tactic that would work where the ones used by Sadam. American doesn't, couldn't and shouldn't go down that road