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  • Sadr losing control of his men.

    There have been a string of attacks in Iraq this weekend which authorities are blaming on rogue elements of Sadr's Maudi Army.


    Dozens die in attacks across Iraq
    Iraqis mourn lost relatives after a stray rocket struck a residential building in Kamaliya, east Baghdad, on Sunday
    Some relatives were mourning those struck by a stray rocket
    A string of suicide attacks, shootings and rocket strikes have claimed dozens of lives on a day of violence in Iraq.

    In the bloodiest single incident, 13 Iraqi soldiers died when a suicide attacker drove a fuel tanker into an army base in Mosul in northern Iraq.

    Meanwhile, the US military said it killed 12 militants in a house east of Baquba, in Diyala province. It said they were preparing suicide attacks.

    The bloodshed comes despite an overall reduction in violence since last June.

    That was when the US deployed an extra 30,000 troops in violence-hit areas - the so-called "troop surge".

    But Sunday's violence underlines the fragile, reversible nature of the apparent improvements in security, say correspondents.

    Huge blast

    At least 40 people were injured in Sunday's early-morning suicide strike in Mosul.

    Smoke rises from the Green Zone in central Baghdad on Sunday, after it was targeted by a series of rockets or mortars
    Sunday also saw a barrage of fire hit Baghdad's Green Zone

    The suicide attacker ploughed an explosives-laden tanker into the army base, causing a massive blast.

    Iraqi and US soldiers have been engaged in a major offensive in Mosul, which US commanders say is al-Qaeda's last urban stronghold in Iraq.

    In another deadly attack, at least seven shoppers in a Baghdad market were killed when gunmen travelling in three cars opened fire.

    At least 16 people were wounded when the drive-by shooting happened in the southern Zaafariniya area of the city, police said. The gunmen fled the scene.

    In other violence:

    * at least five people were killed by Katyusha rockets which apparently fell short of their target in Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone
    * at least five people were killed when a suicide bomber struck a queue outside a petrol station in the Shula district of Baghdad, police said
    * a roadside bomb killed five Iraqi soldiers close to the city of Kirkuk - the scene of growing sectarian strife

    Bodies 'shaved'

    The attacks on the Green Zone - which began at about 0600 (0300 GMT) and caused no reported injuries - set the warlike tone of the day.

    The first rocket barrage sounded like successive peals of thunder. It left a shroud of stinking black smoke over the city, reports the BBC's Adam Brookes.

    Map

    A second barrage followed about four hours later.

    Our correspondent says previous rocket attacks on the Green Zone have been blamed on rogue elements of Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, which is supposed to be observing a ceasefire.

    Also on Sunday, the US military said it had killed 12 men in a raid east of Baquba city, in Diyala province.

    Spokesman Major Winfield Danielson claimed six of the men killed were found to have shaved their bodies, which he said was "consistent with final preparation for suicide operations".

    He added that a cache of weapons and ammunition had also been found in the raid and destroyed.
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  • #2
    and we believe the authorities why?
    Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree...

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    • #3
      But not many of the attacks in the article are ascribed to the rogue elements, are they?
      I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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      • #4
        Another good question is being asked by the Guardian. Much of the Bush strategy in the "surge" has been to bribe local Iraq's into giving up arms and helping to go after extremist groups like Al Qaeda in Iraq. Cracks in this strategy have now become so large it is impossible to miss them as tens of thousands of Iraqis drop out of the system in frustration.

        Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by DanS
          But not many of the attacks in the article are ascribed to the rogue elements, are they?
          To be determined.
          Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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          • #6
            Sadr's men have no fight in Mosul. Also, blowing up cars in shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad is not their MO. As far as I know, his followers couldn't care less about Baquba. They've got no dog in the fight in Kirkuk.

            That leaves the attack on the green zone which could have been carried out by Sadr's men.
            I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891

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            • #7
              The most impotant question (aside from the question how many of his men secretly support the enemies of the state) of course is, wether Sadrs men are ready to fight against the insurgents on their own (i.e. without the help of the americans) or not
              Tamsin (Lost Girl): "I am the Harbinger of Death. I arrive on winds of blessed air. Air that you no longer deserve."
              Tamsin (Lost Girl): "He has fallen in battle and I must take him to the Einherjar in Valhalla"

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              • #8
                Originally posted by DanS
                Sadr's men have no fight in Mosul. Also, blowing up cars in shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad is not their MO. As far as I know, his followers couldn't care less about Baquba. They've got no dog in the fight in Kirkuk.

                That leaves the attack on the green zone which could have been carried out by Sadr's men.
                See other post. This is a double post.
                Last edited by Dinner; March 23, 2008, 17:54.
                Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                • #9
                  You're wrong. Shiites move where the jobs are and I personally saw Shiites in all of those cities. Blowing up cars in Shiite neighborhoods is not their M.O. though; a notable exception must be made however since Sadr's men hate Badr's men and both militias did indeed fight each other despite both being shiite militias. I'd need to learn more to say for sure.
                  Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                  • #10
                    The daily drip, drip, drip of blood dominates the news but is not the big story.

                    What I'm interested in -- and rarely hear about is:

                    (1) The steps, if any, the Iraqi government is taking towards reconciliation between the Kurds, Shia and Sunni Arabs.

                    (2) The reconstruction, if any, of Iraq.

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                    • #11
                      900+ Americans dead (and many times that wounded) since the escalation was announced. A total of 4000 dead and many more wounded and disfigured since the war was started and nothing permanent to show for it. The surge/escalation has been a temperary measure which is now falling apart and the Iraqis have made no political progress during the whole time. We have to recognize that our staying there is making things worse and not better plus we're wasting massive amounts of money ($3 trillion and counting). Let's just go home.
                      Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                      • #12
                        You don't know ****.
                        Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                        "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                        He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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                        • #13
                          Did you major in whine with a minor in moan?
                          Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
                          "Hating America is something best left to Mobius. He is an expert Yank hater.
                          He also hates Texans and Australians, he does diversify." ~ Braindead

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                          • #14
                            Also good to hear balanced and reasonable arguments from our Texan friends.
                            Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by SlowwHand
                              You don't know ****.
                              He was there, you weren't. PERIOD.
                              "Ceterum censeo Ben esse expellendum."

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