Militia's other weapon: videos

A video of a battle in Sadr City, recorded just six days ago by Abu Mujtaba, opens with the image of a burning US Abrams tank, disabled by a roadside bomb and then repeatedly struck by RPGs. Later, the video cuts to a crowd of Mr. Sadr's supporters holding what appears to be the blood-soaked bullet proof vest of an American soldier.

"I went to Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya with this video, but nobody accepted the film," complains Mujtaba. "So then we invited them to come to Sadr City and film the fighting themselves, but they also refused that offer. It is not just me who thinks the TV channels are liars, it is the whole world."

Mahdi filmmakers say the Arab news media may be afraid to broadcast such videos because they could face official backlash from Iraqi authorities. Last month, the Iraqi government closed the Baghdad bureau of Qatar-based Al Jazeera. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi accused the station of inciting racial and religious hatred by airing footage of kidnappings and fighting.

Abu Rana, another Mahdi Army filmmaker who refuses to give his real name, says it is his responsibility to show that the Shiite militia is having successes against the Americans.

"The truth is we are killing a lot of the soldiers, hurting them, bombing a lot of Humvees and tanks," says Mr. Rana, who says he used to film weddings and special occasions before the Shiite uprising began last April. "On TV, you just see the Americans have killed a lot of the Mahdi Army. I think the news channels are cooperating with the Americans. Either they are kicked out like Al Jazeera or they obey."

To shoot video, Rana says he often has to take more risks than he does as a fighter, in order to get close to what he is filming. The work is dangerous for his family, as well. He has sent them out of Sadr City to live with relatives until the fighting stops or until he's dead. "People are telling me that my children are crying, they want to see me," he says. "When I visit them once a week, it takes me two hours to pry them off my legs."

The Mahdi Army's videos appeal mainly to the young. In one glitzy shop in Sadr City, where guerrilla CDs are the only thing for sale, the clientele is entirely male, ranging in age from 10 to 40.

Hamid Kareem, a young laborer, says that these videos are the only news he can trust. "There is no truth on TV, the media are liars," he says. "During Saddam's time, the government used to hide all the news about the Shiites and how many he had killed. Now it's all the same thing."

Imad, a 14-year-old wearing an NBA cap, says he has 20 of the videos and watches them all the time. "It makes me happy to watch the American tanks burn," he says. "My uncles are with the Mahdi Army, and I wish I could be one of them too."

Moussa, his 10-year-old friend, agrees. "I like to watch them kill the Americans."

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