Iraq military gives top Mahdi militia leaders in Basra 24 hours to surrender

[Robbien]

Source: AP

Gen. Mohan al-Freiji, who told reporters Tuesday that Basra city and the surrounding province are back under government control, says he has warrants for 81 people, including senior leaders of the Mahdi militia, and they have 24 hours to give up.

Read more: http://www.pr-inside.com/iraq-military-gives-top-mahdi-militia-r551591.htm

---

mmmkay

That'll work.

[sabra]

1. or what?

:eyes:

[dipsydoodle]

4. Or they want their ball back

.

[Arctic Dave]

2. Or else the US is going to bomb you.

Because I have no authority and I'm just a sock puppet for them.

[Robbien]

3. On average during the last year we do four bombing runs a day over Iraq

Come on. Been there, done that.

What else ya got?

[superkia]

8. That is exactly what will happen and you are right about the sock...

puppet too!

[saigon68]

9. Yes sock puppets and rich ones at that

These fuckers have stolen Billions from the US that is now in swiss banks

[bemildred]

5. Five US troops killed in Iraq

---

Two marines were killed and three others wounded when a bomber slammed his explosives-laden car into a checkpoint near the western Iraqi city of Ramadi at around 7:30 am (0430 GMT), the military said.

Two Iraqi policemen and 24 civilians were also wounded in the attack near the city, the capital of Anbar province, which was once the symbol of Sunni Arab insurgency against US forces.

A third marine was killed and another wounded in a separate roadside bomb attack in Basra on Monday, the military said in a separate statement.

This is the first US military loss in Basra since Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against Shiite militiamen there on March 25.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hp-HT2iDhn8Lbom45Y2eiBfxTmMQ

[saigon68]

10. "Bring Em On" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[Nihil]

13. Was that a "no" then?

:shrug:

[hvn_nbr_2]

6. 37 different #2's have been captured and 28 #2's surrendered. nt

[maddezmom]

7. Western forces 'in Basra raids'

Western forces 'in Basra raids'

Iraqi forces now have a presence throughout Basra, reports say

US and UK special forces are carrying out operations in Basra in southern Iraq against Shia militiamen, a Western military source has told the BBC.

The aim is to detain senior figures in the Mehdi Army and other Shia militias, and members of a local tribe.

Iraqi forces now have a presence throughout the city, local reports say. Fighting is continuing in Shia areas of Baghdad. The US military said it had killed five suspected militiamen overnight in the district of Sadr City.

Three were shot dead in a gun battle; two others were killed in an air attack.


more:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7360875.stm

[ohio2007]

20. Basra cleanup. ( no western presence in the video )

Basra Clean UP - Post Media Reply
Iraqi children cleaning up trash in the streets of Basra. Scenes include truckloads of Iraqi volunteers cleaning the streets with the help of Iraqi children and the Iraqi children singing and dancing in the streets.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=203_1209302042

Iraqi's helping Iraqi's clean up what the 'Black Pajama's' destroyed in their few weeks of occupation/supression of the locals.


Maliki and the Iraqi's are still standing in Basra.

People refuse to see this as a sign Iraqi's are one step closer to removing the US crutch. Doubt CNN will run this live leak during the current campaign trail season.
Well, the three leading canidates probably have taken notice so they only need to stay focused on the economy.

[maddezmom]

21. well cosidering 1 Marine died there, I'd say there were Western troops

US mil: Roadside bomb kills US Marine in Basra
The Associated PressPublished: April 22, 2008

BAGHDAD: The U.S. military says a U.S. Marine has been killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq's southern port city of Basra.

A statement says another Marine was injured in the attack on Monday.

The statement released Tuesday gave no further details.

AP Television News footage from Basra on Monday showed thick smoke rising from a military vehicle burning on a highway overpass.

more:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/22/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-US-Casualties.php

[ohio2007]

22. You link was Published: April 22, 2008 ......Cleanup of Basra is going on ->today

I'm sure there were no other foreign presence defending the city from invading Iraqi soldiers either ;)



Here is an old article video about ten months old;


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=6a4_1181295598

Worth an honest listening now that hindsight is 20/20 with al Sadr ordering Maliki out of Basra and all
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3244022&mesg_id=3244022

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3252033&mesg_id=3258033

[scarletwoman]

11. I hope the Mahdi Army farts in their general direction. (nt)

[IndianaGreen]

12. I am sure that they will surrender just as General McAuliffe did to the Germans at Bastogne

Nuts!

[Javaman]

14. Do what ever you can when the shit hits the fan, shoobadee doo wop! nt

[ohio2007]

15. 24 hrs ---- Iraq's Maliki says factions agree to rejoin govt

Iraq's Maliki says factions agree to rejoin govt

BAGHDAD, April 24 (Reuters) - Political factions boycotting the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki have agreed to rejoin, the government said in a statement on Thursday

snip


Iraq's main Sunni Arab bloc, followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and some smaller groups walked out of Maliki's Shi'ite-led national unity government last year in what was seen at the time as a blow to U.S. efforts to promote unity.

The government has frequently said it is close to persuading the Sunni Arab Accordance Front to return in what would amount to a major breakthrough toward reconciling Iraq's warring sects.

snip

"Our return to the government is very close," he said.

The Front has so far said it was waiting for prisoners to be freed under a new amnesty law and for Sunni Arabs to be given more say in security policy.

But it signalled its support for Maliki's security policy by backing a crackdown the prime minister ordered against Sadr's armed followers last month.

While the statement from Maliki's office said all groups would return, it is highly unlikely Sadr's movement would agree to rejoin. Sadr pulled his six ministers from the government a year ago after Maliki refused to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B760161.htm

Setting the table by releasing from prison Sunni fighters to fuel a civil war against a minority sect of Shia ?

[ohio2007]

16. Baghdad clashes 'kill 15 gunmen'

snip
The fighting took place in areas of the city controlled by the Mehdi Army militia of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.

There has been fierce fighting in Baghdad and the southern city of Basra since the government's campaign against the Mehdi Army began last month.

The Iraqi army commander in Basra has said his forces are in "almost complete control" of the port city.

snip
In Basra, the Iraqi commander, General Mohan Furaiji, told the BBC his forces had nearly gained complete control of the city.

He denied reports that he had given the leaders of Shia militias in the city 24 hours to give themselves up. The US has sent 800 troops to Basra to help the Iraqi army, and UK and US special forces are launching raids to detain key figures in the militias.

The most influential of the militias in Basra is the Mehdi Army. There are also the Badr Brigades - linked to the political party, the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq.

There are signs that the militias' hold on the city is weakening, says our correspondent.

There are reports of women dressing less conservatively, couples walking arm-in-arm and live music being played at weddings - all things that would have been impossible a few weeks ago, adds our correspondent.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7362509.stm

Maliki is still standing in Basra.

So...where's Waldo ?




http://ftd.de/asset/Image/Migration/2004/muktada_al_sadr,0.jpg

[bemildred]

17. The men in black vanish and Basra comes to life

Young women are daring to wear jeans, soldiers listen to pop music on their mobile phones and bands are performing at wedding parties again.

All across Iraq’s second city life is improving, a month after Iraqi troops began a surprise crackdown on the black-clad gangs who were allowed to flourish under the British military. The gunmen’s reign had enforced a strict set of religious codes.

Yet after three years of being terrified of kidnap, rape and murder – a fate that befell scores of other women – Nadyia Ahmed, 22, is among those enjoying a sense of normality, happy for the first time to attend her science course at Basra University. “I now have the university life that I heard of at high school before the war and always dreamt about,” she told The Times. “It was a nightmare because of these militiamen. I only attended class three days a week but now I look forward to going every day.”

She also no longer has to wear a headscarf. Under the strict Islamic rules imposed by the militias, women had to cover their hair, could not wear jeans or bright clothes and were strictly forbidden from sitting next to male colleagues on pain of death.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3671861.ece

[ckramer]

18. This kind of killing is totally not neccessary if Bush didn't invade Iraq

Saddam had done it once. That's enough.

There has to be a dictator, either you or me or him.

Why did Bush not understand that?

[ohio2007]

19. Iraq's Sadr calls for ceasefire to continue

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr pulled back from confrontation with the government on Friday, asking his followers to continue to observe a shaky ceasefire and not to do battle with government troops.

snip
The statement comes less than a week after Sadr threatened to launch an "open war until liberation" if attacks on his followers by U.S.-backed government troops did not cease

snip

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL2557895220080425?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=401

It's back to planting IED and lobbing shells into certain districts of Baghdad randomly killing mostly Iraqi citizens while the govt keeps the fallen and dead on their payrolls
http://www.nbc30.com/news/15989377/detail.html
in order to pay benefits to their families.