|
|
Article: Top men in al-Sadr's militia killed, caught: Mahdi Army in siege mode as Iraq's leader abandons group
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- January 19, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
BAGHDAD - Mahdi Army fighters said Thursday they were under siege
in their Sadr City stronghold after U.S. and Iraqi troops killed or
seized key commanders in pinpoint nighttime raids.
Two commanders of the Shiite militia said Prime Minister Nouri al-
Maliki has stopped protecting the group under pressure from
Washington and threats from Sunni Muslim Arab governments.
The two commanders' accounts of a growing siege mentality inside
the organization could represent a tactical and propaganda feint, but
there was mounting evidence the militia was increasingly off balance
and had ordered its gunmen to melt back into the population. To avoid
capture, commanders report that they no longer use cell ...