US forces battle Sadr militia in Baghdad

[ECH1969]

Four Iraqis were killed in a heavy gunfight that broke out before dawn Thursday reportedly between the Mehdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr and US forces in Baghdad's Sadr City.

"The coalition forces conducted a raid in Sadr City to search for a known terrorist from Ansar al-Sunnah group," the spokesman said.

"Ater conducting the raid one of the helicopters of the coalition forces came under fire from some men on a nearby rooftop following which another helicopter of the coalition forces returned fire to eliminate the threat in which four individuals were killed."

He did not say whether the four were members of the Mehdi Army, though an interior ministry official said the fight was between US forces and the Mehdi Army.

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=15632

[jzodda]

1. What a mess mess mess

That we don't even know who the bad guys are anymore. Interior ministry troops as part of militias, death squads, terrorist groups, bathists, other militias connected to politcal parties, crime syndidates working to smuggle oil...The news seems to get worse and more murky by the day. I would hate to be a US serviceman in this situation.

We really really really need to get out of this mess that we created. They need to sort it out now themselves. We are not able to help the situation.

[tatertop]

2. Funny his name should pop up in this context right about now

[bigtree]

3. Sadr in Damascus today dissing Americans

Iraq's Sadr says US spreading strife among Arabs

Mon Feb 6, 2006
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-02-06T170239Z_01_L06233261_RTRUKOC_0_US-SYRIA-IRAQ-SADR.xml&archived=False

"Both Iraq and Syria are under U.S. pressure. We have good relations but our common enemies, Israel, the United States and Britain, are trying to spread strife among us. The people will not fall for this," he told reporters.

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. The US wants to start this shit up again?

They want another siege of Najaf, another protracted streetfight in Sadr City and across the southern cities?

They want to expand the number of enemies rather than reduce it?

Ooooooooh, that's right. They're gonna bomb the shit out of Iran, and action that will make the Shia see red, so now they're getting into it again with the Mehdi Army to cover the subsequent Shia fighting?

Insane.