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Sadrâs militia less than 1,000-strong in Sadr City: US army
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US military estimates less than 1,000 members of the Mehdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr are fighting from their Baghdad stronghold, using women and children as human shields. "I donât think itâs a thousand, itâs probably not a hundred," Brigadier General Jeffrey Hammond, a deputy commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, told AFP about the size of the rebel clericâs army in the slum of Sadr City. In fact, Hammond was betting on bleeding Sadrâs organisation dry even in the district named after his family following last yearâs downfall of president Saddam Hussein. "Certainly when we kill 35 people, those numbers impact on the overall effectiveness of the organisation," he told AFP.The general was speaking after a turbulent 24-hour period that followed the 1st Cavalry Divisionâs arrest in Sadr City of Amir al-Husseini, considered the right-hand man of Sadr. Thirty-five Sadr militiamen were killed in the running battles that kicked off Sunday morning after Husseiniâs arrest Saturday in Sadr City and climaxed pre-dawn Monday as teams of four to six men fired off small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) at US troops. The fighting Monday lasted from midnight to 4 am and saw US forces come under sniper and RPG fire eight times. "We moved through the town. We used calibrated precision fire to kill them. We eliminated them. They were operating in four-to-six man teams."
Since Sadrâs army kicked off its rebellion on April 4 and killed eight US soldiers in Baghdad, the clericâs militia has laid low in the capital. But the arrest of Husseini on Saturday was a rallying cry for the fundamentalist army, whose fertile recruiting grounds are the abject warrens of Sadr City. "I think it was their reaction to our action. They were attempting to exert their influence in Sadr City," Hammond said about the sudden spike in violence. The clashes climaxed with the decision early Monday to flatten Sadrâs Baghdad offices with tank fire. "We eliminated the militia from the building and destroyed the building. It was a reminder that we were not going to let them dictate the terms to the good people" of Sadr City, Hammond said. Although the army arrested Husseini while Sadr himself is isolated in the central holy city of Najaf surrounded by a ring of US troops, Hammond conceded the Mehdi Army has not been eliminated. "Sadr still has an organised command structure to a degree. He retains an organised command and control structure that we continue to deal with," the general said. Despite Sadrâs allure to the masses, based on his fatherâs death in 1999 at the hands of Saddamâs regime, Hammond was betting people were not happy with the chaos and the young clericâs call for revolt. Sadr is wanted by the Americans for the murder of a rival cleric last year in Najaf. "They are tired. They donât like the collateral damage and their streets littered with combat debris," the general said. A key to Hammondâs strategy is the freeing up of millions of dollars to repair the infrastructure in Sadr City. The 1st Cavalry Division is set to start spending 140 million dollars on both Sadr City and Baghdadâs Rashid district to improve the sewage system, the water supply and electricity. The money is expected to create thousands of jobs. Envisioning Sadr City in a full-swing renaissance and the effect it would have on the Mehdi Army, Hammond suggested: "These people are going to be less apt to pick up an AK-47" assault rifle. Posted by: ed 2004-05-11 |
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