| Today's Iraq Corpse 'n' Carnage report, brought to you by the Associated Press... |
The Associated Press
Influential Sunni scholars encouraged Iraqis to join the country's security forces and protect the country, issuing an edict today that departed sharply from earlier warnings against participating in the fledgling police and army.| "Don't go joinin' no infidel-dominated national forces... No, wait! We meant join! Yes, join up! Do it now!" |
Today's edict, endorsed by a group of 64 Sunni clerics and scholars, instructed enlistees to refrain from helping foreign troops against their own countrymen. But Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai, a cleric in the influential Association of Muslim Scholars who read the edict during a sermon at a major Sunni mosque, said joining the Iraqi security forces was now necessary to prevent the country from falling into "the hands of those who have caused chaos, destruction and violated the sanctities." If heeded, the announcement could strengthen Iraqi security forces, who are trying to take over the fight against the Sunni-led insurgency. It came as Ukraine and Italy gave timelines to pull troops from Iraq later this year, further dwindling the number of U.S.-led coalition forces.
In ongoing violence against Iraq's faithful, a bomb near a Sunni mosque in Kirkuk killed one civilian heading to Friday prayers, said police official Sarhat Qadir. Three others were also injured. In the holy city of Karbala, Shiite pilgrims began leaving after sleeping on city streets because they feared traveling at night after a string of attacks on pilgrims. Bus stations were packed with faithful heading home after a Shiite religious holiday marking the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and one of Shiites' most important saints. Fighters from the Sunni Muslim-led insurgency staged several deadly attacks on Shiite pilgrims in the days leading up to the religious festival. Security measures remained in place today, with policemen keeping watch from building rooftops and patrolling the streets.
Also today, witnesses said a car bomb exploded outside a U.S. base in Ramadi, near a convoy at the base's gate. The U.S. military and Iraqi police did not immediately have information on the blast. In the eastern city of Balad Ruz, gunmen killed police chief Col. Hatim Rashid and another officer at a police station, police Col. Mudhafar al-Jubouri said.