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US targeted Iran-tied group in raid
In a Sunday attack in Baghdad, US forces sought members of 'Special Groups,' its name for Mahdi Army offshoots it says have Iranian ties. At least 49 Iraqis were killed.
By Sam Dagher | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the October 22, 2007 edition
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Baghdad - US forces further intensified their offensive against the Shiite militia loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical cleric, conducting a ground and air operation Sunday in Baghdad's teeming Sadr City slum. The attack left at least 49 militants dead, according to an American military statement.
The US military said it was going after rogue elements of the Mahdi Army that it calls "Special Groups," which the US says receive funding, training, and weapons from Iran. The target of this operation, they said, specialized in "kidnapping operations."
Last October, a US Army translator was kidnapped, and in May three US soldiers and five Britons – four security contractors and a civilian – were abducted in separate incidents.
Fighting started when soldiers were attacked with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades from buildings at the start of the raid. Troops returned fire, killing 33. Six more gunmen were killed in air strikes. Another 10 militants were killed in additional clashes when US troops were attacked as they left the area, added the military.
"Ground forces reported they were unaware of any innocent civilians being killed as a result of this operation," said the US statement, without indicating whether the target of the operation was detained or killed.
But in what has become a classic pattern of events in the aftermath of similar operations in Sadr City, both witnesses and officials from Mr. Sadr's movement who live in the area gave a different death toll and version of events.
Salah al-Okaili, a Sadrist parliamentarian, said at least 10 people were killed and 62 wounded, most of them civilians. Another resident, Rahim Abdel-Karim, said funerals for 15 people killed in the operation were held in the area.
State-funded Al Iraqiya television gave a toll of 10 killed and 30 wounded, adding that most of those killed were civilians. It showed footage of women wailing and slapping their faces at funeral processions. The Associated Press said it had photos and video footage of dead and wounded children from the operation.
The operation comes a day after US and Iraqi forces arrested 30 fighters linked to Sadr's militia in the city of Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad, which has seen renewed fighting and a series of attacks against coalition and Iraqi forces in the province of Qadisiyah last week that have left at least 13 Iraqis dead.
Last week, US and Iraqi forces also arrested two members of the provincial council in Diwaniyah from the Sadrist movement on charges of being linked to the militia, according to Nassar al-Rubaie, another Sadrist member of the Iraqi parliament.
Commenting on the US raid in Sadr City, Mr. Rubai said, "It's barbaric, disgusting, and against all international conventions. Most of those killed were women and children." Sadr City is home to one-third of Baghdad estimated 5 million residents.
In both Sadr City and Diwaniyah, the US military said it was targeting "criminals" or rogue elements of Sadr's group who have failed to abide by the cleric's call for a freeze on all activities. That announcement came in August after clashes with rival Shiite factions in the shrine city of Karbala.
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