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| Iraq | |
| Iraq Police and Shiite Militiamen Clash in Baghdad | |
| 2015-07-10 | |
An interior ministry officer said around 15 gunnies from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) force stormed an unfinished health ministry building in the Zayyounah neighborhood overnight. "The guards went to the police, which dispatched units of around 60 men equipped with armored personnel carriers to expel the gunnies, who opened fire," the officer said. A police colonel said three coppers were maimed in the festivities, which resulted in the Lions of Islam eventually leaving the building. "The gunfire lasted for almost an hour," said Wafa Mohammed, who lives nearby. "We were scared inside our home and had no idea what was happening on the street." A shop owner from the same neighborhood said some members of the security services negotiated with the gunnies when the exchange of fire stopped. The Hashed al-Shaabi is made up of volunteers and several mostly Shiite militias. They are theoretically under the prime minister's command but largely escape his control. The militias, several of which have close ties with Tehran, have done much of the heavy lifting in the fight against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... jihadist group that took over swathes of Iraq last year. The interior ministry issued a statement that appeared to allude to the overnight clash in Zayyounah. "In the wake of the latest incidents, the minister and ministry officials discussed the situation in Baghdad and the means to provide security and stability," it said. The statement said the minister had asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, his party and other political groups, "to support the ministry in its efforts to confront undisciplined groups." Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghaban himself is a member of the Badr organization, the political wing of one of Iraq's most prominent Shiite militias. The militias and federal forces have consistently jockeyed for supremacy in the battle against IS. While paramilitary groups enjoy huge popular prestige, critics say those groups need to do more to rein in members -- or gunnies who claim to be members -- challenging the law with impunity, especially in urban areas. | |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 In Bangladesh, this would mean a trip apiece at 3 am for RAB2, RAB3, RAB6 and RAB8... |
| Posted by: Steve White 2015-07-10 16:05 |
| #1 Dang, does this mean putting four Moslems in a dark room mean we have three heads on a fence post by midnight? |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2015-07-10 14:34 |