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Fierce clashes between Shiite militiamen and U.S. and Iraqi forces in eastern Baghdad killed at least 38 people, including 22 who died when a U.S. tank fired on attackers, the American military said Monday.
Others died when troops responded after they were attacked with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Sadr City, the Baghdad bastion of the Mahdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, statements issued Monday said.
The major attack on the checkpoint was carried out under cover of a heavy sandstorm at around 6.35 p.m. on Sunday.
"U.S. soldiers used 120 mm fire from M1A12 Abrams tanks and small arms fire to kill the 22 criminals, forcing remaining enemy forces present to retreat," the military said.
"The criminals' small arms fire was ineffective and there were no U.S. soldier or Iraqi security force casualties in the attack."
The latest deaths bring to at least 439 the number of militiamen and civilians killed in a month of clashes in Sadr City, where violence erupted after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a countrywide crackdown on militias, starting in the southern oil city of Basra.
An interior ministry official said the Green Zone, where the Iraqi government and U.S. embassy is based, was hit by at least 10 rockets or mortar rounds, while embassy staffers put the number at closer to 15.
Each wave of projectiles triggered alarms and sent American embassy staff scurrying for cover, an embassy official said, adding that staffers were sheltering inside the building, formerly a palace of executed dictator Saddam Hussein.
U.S. and Iraqi military commanders say around 700 rockets or mortar bombs have been fired from various locations in Baghdad in the past month, mainly from Sadr City, the east Baghdad bastion of the Mahdi Army militia of radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Of these, 114 projectiles have hit the Green Zone, killing two U.S. soldiers, two U.S. embassy personnel and two Iraqi guards.
Those firing the rockets are often identified by U.S. surveillance aircraft that alert helicopters which deploy Hellfire missiles against the attackers.
However, with Sunday's sandstorm reducing visibility helicopters were unable to take off, allowing the militiamen to escape after firing the missiles.
Iraqi army spokesman Major General Qasim Atta told a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday that most of the rockets fired were Iranian-made.
"We have found many Iranian-made weapons -- Katyusha and Grad rockets, and smart roadside bombs and smart bombs. We have also seized some documents and identified some people," he said, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, Sadr's group rejected Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's conditions for an end to the fighting between militiamen and security forces.
"We object to the conditions that Maliki has put forward," said Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, spokesman for the Sadr movement in the central holy city of Najaf.
"He (Maliki) is saying that the government has the right to do whatever it wants. We say the crisis can be resolved by objective dialogue."
On Saturday, in an interview with Al-Arabiya television, Maliki laid down four conditions for an end to the onslaught against Sadr's Mahdi Army militia by his forces.
"We have four demands, not more, that all those carrying arms -- not just the Mahdi Army -- should adhere to," Maliki told the Dubai-based news channel.
"Handing in all heavy and medium weapons, and not interfering in the work of governmental departments," Maliki said, spelling out his first two conditions.
"Never interfere in the tasks of the police and army, so that police and army would operate everywhere -- in Sadr City, Basra and Mosul -- without any objections," he added.
Maliki also demanded the "handing in of the wanted."
On March 25 Iraqi forces launched an assault in the southern city of Basra which initially faced fierce resistance from Shiite militiamen, mostly from the Mahdi Army.
In the first few days of the operation, at least 700 people were killed in the port city, according to the United Nations.
The firefights in Basra triggered clashes in other Shiite regions of Iraq, particularly in Baghdad's Sadr City, the cleric's base in the capital.
A 20-strong parliamentary delegation meanwhile toured Sadr City on Sunday and demanded an end to the "siege" of the sprawling area.
The delegation, comprising Sunnis, Kurds and Sadrists, held talks with local representatives of Sadr's movement.
In a statement, the MPs appealed to the government to "end military operations, raids and house-to-house searches."
"They also appealed for a lifting of the "siege" and demanded an inquiry into "human rights violations" in Sadr City.
Atta denied the sprawling district was under siege by the military.
© AFP
13 Comments
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rjd_jr
Looks like the surge is working as usual
jambon
"Militants," is it? No matter the head line of this article, these freedom fighters of the MSM are getting their butts handed to them. Feast your eyes:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49699
rjd_jr
Actually, not to sound too negative or anything, but that defense link article lists nothing but action by 'coaltion forces' (read: American troops). The fact that coalition force after coalition force are the ones that are still doing the bulk of the fighting after 5 years is nothing to celebrate. It's their country, let the Iraqi's fight and die for it.
curlygene
Anybody read Frank Herbert's Dune? The same strategy was employed in it, and also by a group of religious fanatics against an empire. This story's quite eerie in the parallels that can be drawn to that novel
adaydream
KWESTION:
Are all munitions used by U. S. military combat troops made in the U. S.?
redacted
"Fierce clashes between Shiite militiamen and U.S. and Iraqi forces in eastern Baghdad killed at least 38 people, including 22 who died when a U.S. tank fired on attackers, the American military said Monday."
Brave holy warrior goat fanciers all dead and gone to paradise for an eternity of dark-eyed virgins - or raisins; translators aren't sure on this point.
Gots to admire their faith!
SuperLib
Hey, progressives taught us that the surge and violence cannot be compared. When deaths fell considerably over the 6-month period in 2007 they told us that the surge was about establishing the government and that was the only way it could be measured.
So, violence could spike tenfold and you'd be unable to claim that the surge was a failure since those two things aren't related.
Hey, just playing by their rules...
adaydream
No the surge was a wonderful success.
How long should the troop levels continue at the surge levels to keep down the violence?
Who should serve to keep these levels up? Upper level citizens that refuse to serve or criminals that have a felony record?
How long should the citizens of the United States continue to pay $Billions to pay this expense?
Do you agree with John McCain that he'd be happy to see troops there for a very long time?
Betzee
In fact it was GWB who said this when he announced plans for a troop surge in January 2007. Progressives are simply measuring results against stated objectives, a common method of determining success. It was clear the Iraqi army was unable to stand up and take responsibility for security and the only way to improve security was by augmenting the number of US troops. This was to provide the "breathing room" (GWB's words) for political reconciliation to occur.
In March 2008 General Petreaus told Congress "our gains are fragile and reversible." As the war entered its sixth year, this was hardly heartening news. The best means to ensure sustainability would be political reconciliation, enabling the Iraqis to duke it out in the legislature not on the streets. Yet little discernable headway has been made in that direction.
Taka313
And therefore we can expect that you won't be passing judgement on "progressives" for doing the same thing you are now doing, right?
Taka
rjd_jr
As Betzee's post points out, there has been absolutely little progress either politically or militarily. 44 American troops have been killed this month, one of the deadliest since last September I believe. The Green Zone has become one of the more unsafe areas in Baghdad with its constant shelling. The Iraqi politicians are fiddling their thumbs while precious American lives are being killed. The Iraq Army continue to unimpress. It's clear, with no progress in the immediate future, why continue to risk American lives. This is the thing that just blows my mind, Americans continue to risk their lives year in and year out in Iraq, with little to no progress militarily or politically. How much longer do we have to put them at risk like this. At least WW2 had a clear objective, this current fiasco has no objective, or an unclear objective that seems to drag on and on and on. It's very clear that the very presence of American forces in Iraq has been VERY taken for granted. It's like supporting a deadbeat dad or something. Withdraw the troops and let the Iraqi's fight and die for their country
Madverts
Superlib,
The surge succeeded in reducing the daily, horrific casualites caused by this invasion an subsequent occupation. Temporarily.
America neither has the resolve, nor the wads of cash needed to maintain it. And as Bush Co nears it´s ejection from the Whitehouse - something I can only compare to the final moment of persistent piles leaving the body fro good - interest in this conflict has waned.
I´ve maintained for a while now the US should un-clutch the booty and go home. Things couldn´t get much worse, so what the hell?
Madverts
Also, I maintain that the few hoarse voices still croaking support for an invasion that now equates to mass-murder on a genocidal scale, need a medical term for their condition.