British leave, battle erupts over Basra
Turmoil like that in the southern port city could erupt elsewhere in Iraq as outside forces depart, say analysts.
from the March 23, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Hassan al-Shimmari, the head of Fadhila, told the Al Arabiya news channel from Amman, Jordan, that the situation was so bad that the provincial governor had to use a weapon during the clash to help defend the governorate building and his home that is nearby.
"Our initial information indicates that there is a person who goes by the name Abu Qader, who leads these operations.... He is connected to a neighboring country. He received significant funds and weapons from this country to recruit fighters and undermine the security situation in the province of Basra," he said in reference to Iran, though he did not name it specifically.
Sources in Mr. Sadr's movement in Baghdad and Basra said that Abu Qader was in the Mahdi Army.
Reuters reported that hospital sources said seven people had been wounded in the clashes. Shortly after midday Thursday intense gunfire dwindled to sporadic shooting.
A curfew was imposed for several hours as Iraqi police, soldiers, and British troops deployed in the area.
"We don't have a great deal of clarity on what happened but police asked us to deploy our forces in that part of the city. By the time we got there there wasn't much to see," said British military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Kevin Stratford-Wright.
Details of the fighting were sketchy but Ali al-Hamadi, the head of Basra's emergency security committee, blamed it on a "misunderstanding" between Fadhila and the Mahdi Army.
Officials of Mr. Sadr's movement and the Fadhila Party sought to play down the violence. "Whatever is happening, there is no problem between us and the Sadrists. There is no way we would clash with them," said Nadim al-Jabiri, a senior official of Fadhila.
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