TruthSeeker
PDF THINK TANK: ANALYST
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2008
- Messages
- 6,390
- Reaction score
- 3
- Country
- Location
Iraqi forces kill senior Mahdi Army operative
By Bill Roggio, the Long War Journal, February 5, 2009 11:35 AM
Iraqi police killed a senior member of the Mahdi Army during a raid in Diwaniyah province, sparking a protest from the Sadrist movement. Twenty other " Sadr loyalists" were detained in other raids in the province, according to a Sadrist spokesman.
Mahdi Army commander Tariq Azab was killed in a shootout after police attempted to arrest him, AFP reported. "He tried to escape, which prompted armed clashes and he was killed," a police official told the news agency. The police official described Azab as an "important" leader of the Mahdi Army who had just returned from Iran.
A US official said Azab was wanted for conducting attacks on US forces and murdering Iraqi civilians. The raiding force was planning to arrest him, the US source based out of Camp Echo told Voices of Iraq. The killed man was carrying out armed operations against US forces and is wanted on charges of murdering civilians in the province.
It is unclear if Azab is part of the mainstream Mahdi Army loyal to the Sadrist movement or part of the Iranian-backed splinter groups such as the Asaib al Haq, or League of the Righteous. An official from the Sadrist office in Diwaniyah province described Azab as a "Sadr loyalist" and claimed Iraqi police and US forces conducted multiple raids against the Sadrists in Diwaniyah resulting in the detention of 20 members of the Sadrist movement.
The Sadrist official also claimed the raid was conducted after the Sadrists posted gains in Diwaniyah. The campaign came on a background of initial vote counting for the provincial council elections, which showed that we have garnered a large number of votes in Diwaniyah, Nidal al Nomani Voices of Iraq.
But election results show the independent political parties backed by the Sadrist movement had a poor showing in southern and central Iraq. In Diwaniyah (Qadisiya), the Sadrists received just 6.7 percent of the vote, or fifth. In Maysan province, the Sadrists received 15.2 percent (second) of the vote. In Baghdad the movement received nine percent (tied second). In Basrah, the movement received five percent (fourth). These three provinces are considered Sadrist "strongholds." Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's party won the elections in nine of the 14 provinces where elections were held, including in Baghdad, Basrah, and Maysan.
Both the Iraqi government and the US military have said Iran has backed various Shia terror groups, including elements of the Mahdi Army. While the Iranian government has denied the charges, Iraqi and US forces have detained dozens of Iranian Qods Force officers and operatives, captured numerous Shia terrorist leaders under Iranian command, and have found ample documentation as well as Iranian-made weapons.
US military officers believe Iran is ramping up its operations inside Iraq after its surrogates suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Iraqi military during the spring and summer of 2008. Iraqi troops went on the offensive against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed terror groups in Baghdad, Basrah, and central and southern Iraq. More than 2,000 Mahdi Army members were killed and thousands more were wounded. The operation forced Muqtada al Sadr to agree to a cease-fire, disband the Mahdi Army, and pull the Sadrist political party out of the provincial elections. Sadr's moves caused shock waves in the Mahdi Army, as some of the militia's leaders wished to continue the fight against US forces in Baghdad and in southern and central Iraq.
The League of the Righteous is a splinter group that broke away from Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army after Sadr announced he would disband the Mahdi Army and form a small, secretive military arm to fight Coalition forces in June. While part of the Sadrist movement, the League of the Righteous was led by Qais Qazali. It is now said to be under the command of Akram al Kabi, a former Sadr loyalist.
The League of the Righteous receives funding, training, weapons, and direction from Iran's Qods Force, the country's secretive special operations group that backs terror groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah. The League of the Righteous conducts attacks with the deadly armor-piercing explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, as well as the more conventional roads bombs.
The US and Iraqi military believe the Special Groups are preparing to re-initiate fighting as its leaders and operatives are beginning to filter back into Iraq from Iran. On Feb. 4, Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, the deputy commander of Multinational Forces Iraq, said Iran continues to arm, fund, and train the Special Groups, and munitions traced back to Iran continue to be uncovered in Iraq. Recent intelligence and the finds of new Iranian caches ""lead us to believe that Iranian support activity is still ongoing," Austin warned.
By Bill Roggio, the Long War Journal, February 5, 2009 11:35 AM
Iraqi police killed a senior member of the Mahdi Army during a raid in Diwaniyah province, sparking a protest from the Sadrist movement. Twenty other " Sadr loyalists" were detained in other raids in the province, according to a Sadrist spokesman.
Mahdi Army commander Tariq Azab was killed in a shootout after police attempted to arrest him, AFP reported. "He tried to escape, which prompted armed clashes and he was killed," a police official told the news agency. The police official described Azab as an "important" leader of the Mahdi Army who had just returned from Iran.
A US official said Azab was wanted for conducting attacks on US forces and murdering Iraqi civilians. The raiding force was planning to arrest him, the US source based out of Camp Echo told Voices of Iraq. The killed man was carrying out armed operations against US forces and is wanted on charges of murdering civilians in the province.
It is unclear if Azab is part of the mainstream Mahdi Army loyal to the Sadrist movement or part of the Iranian-backed splinter groups such as the Asaib al Haq, or League of the Righteous. An official from the Sadrist office in Diwaniyah province described Azab as a "Sadr loyalist" and claimed Iraqi police and US forces conducted multiple raids against the Sadrists in Diwaniyah resulting in the detention of 20 members of the Sadrist movement.
The Sadrist official also claimed the raid was conducted after the Sadrists posted gains in Diwaniyah. The campaign came on a background of initial vote counting for the provincial council elections, which showed that we have garnered a large number of votes in Diwaniyah, Nidal al Nomani Voices of Iraq.
But election results show the independent political parties backed by the Sadrist movement had a poor showing in southern and central Iraq. In Diwaniyah (Qadisiya), the Sadrists received just 6.7 percent of the vote, or fifth. In Maysan province, the Sadrists received 15.2 percent (second) of the vote. In Baghdad the movement received nine percent (tied second). In Basrah, the movement received five percent (fourth). These three provinces are considered Sadrist "strongholds." Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's party won the elections in nine of the 14 provinces where elections were held, including in Baghdad, Basrah, and Maysan.
Both the Iraqi government and the US military have said Iran has backed various Shia terror groups, including elements of the Mahdi Army. While the Iranian government has denied the charges, Iraqi and US forces have detained dozens of Iranian Qods Force officers and operatives, captured numerous Shia terrorist leaders under Iranian command, and have found ample documentation as well as Iranian-made weapons.
US military officers believe Iran is ramping up its operations inside Iraq after its surrogates suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Iraqi military during the spring and summer of 2008. Iraqi troops went on the offensive against the Mahdi Army and other Iranian-backed terror groups in Baghdad, Basrah, and central and southern Iraq. More than 2,000 Mahdi Army members were killed and thousands more were wounded. The operation forced Muqtada al Sadr to agree to a cease-fire, disband the Mahdi Army, and pull the Sadrist political party out of the provincial elections. Sadr's moves caused shock waves in the Mahdi Army, as some of the militia's leaders wished to continue the fight against US forces in Baghdad and in southern and central Iraq.
The League of the Righteous is a splinter group that broke away from Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army after Sadr announced he would disband the Mahdi Army and form a small, secretive military arm to fight Coalition forces in June. While part of the Sadrist movement, the League of the Righteous was led by Qais Qazali. It is now said to be under the command of Akram al Kabi, a former Sadr loyalist.
The League of the Righteous receives funding, training, weapons, and direction from Iran's Qods Force, the country's secretive special operations group that backs terror groups such as Lebanese Hezbollah. The League of the Righteous conducts attacks with the deadly armor-piercing explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, as well as the more conventional roads bombs.
The US and Iraqi military believe the Special Groups are preparing to re-initiate fighting as its leaders and operatives are beginning to filter back into Iraq from Iran. On Feb. 4, Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, the deputy commander of Multinational Forces Iraq, said Iran continues to arm, fund, and train the Special Groups, and munitions traced back to Iran continue to be uncovered in Iraq. Recent intelligence and the finds of new Iranian caches ""lead us to believe that Iranian support activity is still ongoing," Austin warned.
