Seeking safety, Iraqis turn to militias

A floundering government campaign to crack down on militias and increasing sectarian killings have many Shiites turning to militias for protection, particularly radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's violent Mahdi Army.

The US and British military have stepped up raids on its leadership after growing impatient with the new government's failure to arrest the militia's commanders.

But Sunday, two suicide car bombs in the capital and one in the troubled northern oil city of Kirkuk killed a total of 60 Iraqis, as new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki jetted off to Britain and the US for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George Bush on Iraq's crumbling security situation.

Such violence only strengthens the hand of the militias.

The two suicide car-bombsin Baghdad killed at least 42 people in the teeming Sadr City neighborhood, a Mahdi Army stronghold. The attacks followed a joint US and Iraqi raid overnight on a Sadr office in the area that ended with 15 Sadr supporters dead and two hostages freed, the US said in a statement.

Some residents blamed the US raid for the market attack, charging that it forced Mahdi Army members to abandon some of their impromptu checkpoints in the area that are meant to keep out attackers.

"When the Americans come through and break up the checkpoints, that's when we get hit by suicide bombs, like today," says Ahmed Awadh, a Sadr City resident who works in the Ministry of Trade.

"I support the Mahdi Army because they know us here, and we know them. Their checkpoints protect us," he says. "They know all the families, and who has business here. It's clear the Americans don't want to provide us with security. They've had three years.''

Immediately following the market blast, Mahdi Army militiamen poured out of the neighborhood's warren of alleys, shutting down dozens of streets and setting up checkpoints, trying to protect against follow-up attacks.

The district of about 2 million – 8 percent of Iraq's population – is largely policed by the militia. The group runs health clinics and religious courts, and arranges lodging for Shiite refugees from Sunni-dominated parts of the country.

Sadr's movement has built a powerful following because of its aid efforts, and Sadr is positioning himself as a voice for poor Shiites who have seen little tangible benefit from regime change. That follows the same strategy of his father, for whom Sadr City is named, who garnered enormous support among poor Shiites for speaking out against Saddam Hussein until he was killed by the regime in 1999.

"The police and Army don't protect us. When the Americans were here yesterday, they were shooting at our people here, not the criminals,'' says Mohammed al-Askhar, a Mahdi Army member who insisted on using only his nom-de-guerre, which means "Mohammed the Blondie."

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