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(回答先: イラク・レジスタンス・レポート 2005/08/25 投稿者 white 日時 2005 年 8 月 26 日 20:11:34)
□イラク・レジスタンス・レポート(原文) 2005/08/25
http://www.iraq-war.ru/article/61200
Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Thursday, 25 August 2005
By: Muhammad Abu Nasr on: 26.08.2005 [05:38 ] (128 reads)
Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Thursday, 25 August 2005.
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice.
Thursday, 25 August 2005.
* US troops kill six-year-old boy at roadblock outside ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah Thursday afternoon.
* Resistance shoots down US Chinook transport helicopter full of troops north of ar-Ramadi Thursday night.
* People of Rawah appeal for immediate international intervention due to the serious humanitarian situation in the city under blockade since mid-July.
* Residents of al-Mada’in appeal to world for help as puppet regime security forces storm city, arrest hundreds, loot property.
* Resistance car bomb blows up reputed three-story headquarters of “Israeli,” US, British secret services in Irbil.
* Muqtada as-Sadr calls for cease fire after his Jaysh al-Mahdi militia mounts punishing offensive that leaves 20 pro-American Badr Brigade gunmen dead, SCIRI radio, TV, and newspaper offices burned to the ground.
Al-Anbar Province.
‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah.
US blockades ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah, mount searches, raids following Resistance attacks.
US forces encircled the entire suburb of ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah, which lies south of the city of al-Fallujah from all sides at about 2am Thursday morning.
In a dispatch posted at 4:25pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah reported that on Thursday during the day, US forces carried out searches in groves located in the area. They were looking for weapons and “wanted” individuals ﾐ fighters in the Iraqi Resistance.
The drive against ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah was prompted by the on going intermittent Resistance shelling of the US headquarters in the area. It was also in response to a Resistance car bomb attack two days ago and to the daily roadside bombings that target the American occupation troops.
At the time of reporting (4:30pm local time Thursday afternoon), US forces were still encircling the town and no one knew when their blockade and raids might stop.
US troops kill six-year-old boy at roadblock outside ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah Thursday afternoon.
In a dispatch posted at 5:37pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that after having sealed off the city early in the day, US forces set up roadblocks and checkpoints all around the town and at the entrances to the city.
During the afternoon, a car in which an Iraqi family was driving from Baghdad to visit relatives in ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah approached the city, unaware that the Americans had set up a roadblock at the entrance to the city.
When the car approached the checkpoint on the road from Baghdad US troops opened fire intensively on the vehicle in which two children, two women, and a male driver were riding.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reported that the American attack wounded the two women who were later taken to the hospital in the ‘Amiriyat al-Fallujah housing complex along with one of their children. The other child, a boy aged six ﾐ was killed when the American bullets struck him in the head.
Ar-Ramadi.
Resistance shoots down US Chinook transport helicopter full of troops north of ar-Ramadi Thursday night.
In a dispatch posted at 8:59pm Mecca time Thursday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance fighters a short while before had shot down a huge American Chinook helicopter that was carrying a large number of occupation troops over the vegetable oil plant north of ar-Ramadi.
A source in the Iraqi puppet army told the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent that Resistance fire struck the helicopter on the side, causing it to fall and crash into the earth.
The ar-Ramadi correspondent also obtained an official statement from Captain ‘Ali Jabir of the puppet External Road Protection Force who confirmed seeing the helicopter crash in that area.
The correspondent reported that large numbers of American troops encircled the entire area as US fighter planes dropped flares that completely lit up the sky in the hopes that they might be able find any possible survivors from the crash and otherwise to facilitate the recovery of bodies.
Al-Baghdadi.
Resistance bombards US ‘Ayn al-Asad base early Thursday.
Iraqi Resistance forces fired four medium-range Katyusha rockets into the US ‘Ayn al-Asad base, the main American facility in the city, at about 7am local time Thursday morning.
The barrage set off violent explosions inside the camp, sending plumes of smoke rising into the sky.
Resistance bomb leaves a reported two American troops dead early Thursday.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb that had been planted by the side of the main road in the al-Baghdadi area west of Baghdad exploded by a US column of Humvees near the western entrance to the city at about 7am local time Thursday morning.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the area reported that the blast set one Humvee on fire, killing two US troops and wounding two more American soldiers.
Rawah.
Association of Muslim Scholars: People of Rawah appeal for immediate international intervention due to the serious humanitarian situation in the city under blockade since mid-July.
The Association of Muslim Scholars Board of Muslim ‘Ulama’, the supreme religious authority for Sunni Muslims in occupied Iraq issued a statement on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the western Iraqi city of Rawah which has been blockaded by US forces since the middle of July when it was declared a military area.
Most of the families resident in the city left Rawah, the Association reported, taking refuge in cities nearby, in particular ‘Anah, and neighboring villages.
Refugee families have been camping out in schools and other public places where they endure hash conditions of exposure and summer heat on top of a near total lack of food. The rest of the people of Rawah who remained in the beleaguered city, are enduring even worse conditions as a result of the blockade, US attacks, the total shut down of normal city services, and the closure of commercial shops for a long period now.
“No one in the city can get to the hospital,” the Association of Muslim Scholars reported. “There are more than 600 persons suffering from chronic illnesses and not one of them can get to a hospital, nor can the hospital staff provide necessary treatment to them. All other medical and social services are under blockade and no one could get to shops and stores, even if they were open and able to provide anything in condition of the blockade.
The Association reported: “There are martyrs and wounded persons. There are prisoners. But there are no exact data on them because the city is sealed off and under curfew. Life in the city is virtually non-existent.
“The forces in the city ﾐ the American occupation forces and the so-called national guard ﾐ have searched the city comprehensively and over and over. All the shops in the city have been opened and wrecked and robbed in the course of those searches.
“Many of the residential and commercial buildings have been destroyed or burned on the grounds that someone was shooting from them.
“There was fighting in the first four days of the blockade on the various sides of the city, but today it has been turned into a city of ghosts with no movement in its streets and lanes or in its markets.
“In addition to the destruction of the city, there has been an economic catastrophe as well. The life savings of all the people of the city ﾐ millions of dinars ﾐ have been lost. There is nothing there to meet the eye but burned out and wrecked building, gutted cars, and completely paralyzed government offices. The city has no electricity or water supply and no telephone service because of all the destruction and burning.
”The people of Rawah appeal now for the second time to humanitarian organizations, the United Nations, and human rights groups to intervene immediately to save the city that is still under blockade.”
Baghdad.
Muqtada as-Sadr’s followers attack SCIRI, Badr Brigade headquarters in Madinat as-Sadr, pictures of pro-American cleric as-Sistani burned in the streets.
Bloody fighting erupted in the Baghdad neighborhood known as Madinat as-Sadr between the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia loyal to Shi‘i religious leader Muqtada as-Sadr and the pro-American Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its armed wing, the Badr Brigades.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reported that fighting left nine members of the Badr Brigades dead and five more wounded. Four Badr Brigade headquarters were burned in Madinat as-Sadr and one of their headquarters in the ash-Shu‘lah district in northwestern Baghdad.
The correspondent reported that pictures of pro-American Shi‘i authority, ‘Ali as-Sistani, a major backer of SCIRI, had been burned wholesaled in the streets of Madinat as-Sadr, ash- Shu‘lah, and al-Ghazaliyah in Baghdad.
In his dispatch posted at 11:40am Thursday morning Mecca time, the correspondent reported that the situation in those areas appears on the verge of escalation. At one point the Jaysh al-Mahdi threatened to attack any US or Iraqi puppet army patrol that enters Madinat as-Sadr, the area regarded as the stronghold of supporters of Muqtada as-Sadr in the occupied Iraqi capital.
Three US troops reported killed in bombing south of ad-Durah Thursday afternoon.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military column in the southern Baghdad suburb of ad-Durah at about 4pm local time Thursday.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reported residents of ad-Durah as saying that a bomb that was planted in the middle of a farm road that goes to the village of al-Bu ‘Ithah in the south blew up as the patrol of several American Humvees passed over it. The explosion completely destroyed one of the Humvees, killing three US troops and wounding one more.
Four US troops reported killed in roadside bombing in al-‘Amil district Thursday morning.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US patrol of several Humvees in the al-‘Amil neighborhood of western Baghdad at 9am local time Thursday morning.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the area reported a source in the Iraqi puppet army as saying that the blast destroyed one Humvee, killing four US soldiers and seriously wounding a fifth.
A spokesman for the occupation declared on the “al-‘Iraqiyah” TV station, however, that the blast killed only one American soldier and wounded four, in contrast to what a spokesman for the Iraqi puppet army and eyewitnesses at the scene told Mafkarat al-Islam.
Salah ad-Din Province.
Al-Mushahadah.
Four US troops reported killed in early morning roadside bombing.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US armored column on a farm road in the area of al-Mushahadah, north of Baghdad Thursday morning.
In a dispatch posted at 9:30am Mecca time Thursday morning, the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in Baghdad reported residents of al-Mushahadah as saying that a bomb that had been planted by a farm road west of al-Mushahada blew up under a US armored vehicle in a US column. The explosion totally destroyed the vehicle, killing four American soldiers who were aboard it and wounding two more.
Salah ad-Din Province.
Samarra’.
US soldier reported killed in land mine explosion Thursday morning.
An Iraqi Resistance land mine exploded by a US military patrol in the al-Jubayriyah area in the southwest of Samarra’, at about 10am local time Thursday morning.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the area reported residents of al-Jubayriyah as saying that a landmine that had been planted by the side of the road leading to the city center blew up near the southern entrance to Samarra’ when a patrol of two armored vehicles and three Humvees passed by. The explosion disabled one of the armored vehicles, killing one US soldier and wounding two more.
Babil Province.
Al-Iskandariyah.
Resistance bomb blasts US supply convoy at noon Thursday.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a convoy of trucks loaded with provisions and military equipment north of the city of al-Iskandariyah at 12 noon local time Thursday.
The al-Iskandariyah correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the bomb blast on the road to Baghdad was followed by an attack by Resistance fighters armed with machine guns and RPG7 rocket-propelled grenades.
Residents of the al-Bu Hassun village north of al-Iskandariyah reported that a bomb that was planted by the side of the road blew up as the column of several trucks and four Humvees passed by. The explosion set one of the trucks on fire, killing its driver. Then Resistance fighters armed with machine guns and RPG7 rocket-propelled grenades attacked the convoy setting another truck on fire and destroying one Humvee. Three US troops were killed and two others wounded in the ambush.
Al-Yusufiyah.
Resistance pounds US base in al-Yusufiyah Thursday morning.
Iraqi Resistance fighters bombarded a headquarters of US occupation troops in al-Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad, at about 9am local time Thursday morning.
The al-Yusufiyah correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Resistance fighters mounted a fierce attack on joint US-Iraqi puppet army forces in the city, bombarding it with eight heavy 120mm mortar rounds. A source in the Iraqi puppet army told the correspondent that the join headquarters was hit by eight shells, two of which blasted into the outer wall of the headquarters, while the other six struck the headquarters itself directly. The barrage destroyed a Humvee and two personnel carriers. One US soldier was killed and three more were wounded in the attack. Three Iraqi puppet troops were also killed and two more of them were wounded.
Diyala Province.
Al-Mada’in.
Residents appeal to world for help as puppet regime security forces storm al-Mada’in arrest hundreds, loot property.
The people of the predominantly Sunni city of al-Mada’in, just southeast of Baghdad have issued an appeal to honorable people around the world and to human rights officials in Iraq and humanitarian organizations internationally to come to their aid in the face of what they describe as mass arrests and displacements that the puppet regime’s security forces are engaging in. The text of the appeal, a copy of which was obtained by Mafkarat al-Islam, reads:
“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Mercy-giving.
“The Council of Tribes in the al-Mada’in district of Baghdad.
“From the above-named city al-Mada’in.
“A call for humanitarian assistance from the people and tribes of al-Mada’in addressed to all honorable people, people with a vital human conscience, in Iraq and abroad.
“Help us! Help us, and may God have mercy upon you! Guardians, protect our honor, from what is going on:
“On 22 August 2005, a large force of security men, anti-national guards, and shock troops of the Interior Ministry of the provinces of Wasit and al-‘Amarah raided the al-Mada’in district (Salman Bak) and stormed into houses and shops of innocent peaceful citizens. They arrested more than 1,315 individuals, among them a large number of women and children. They stole numerous cars belonging to the citizens as well as their personal belongings including money and jewelry. These operations are still going on until now before the eyes and ears, nay, with the blessing of the occupation and the other official government agencies. Arrest sweeps are going on indiscriminately and without any court orders.
“We appeal to the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights, to Iraqi, regional, and international human rights organizations, and to all relevant parties to intervene to put a stop to this tyrannical campaign and to set free our sons and daughters who have been arrested. Until now we have been told nothing about what has happened to them. We call on anyone who would like to visit our city to come and visit it and see that it is now virtually empty of men and youths.”
At-Ta’mim Province.
Kirkuk.
Resistance bomb blasts US armored column early Thursday afternoon.
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US armored column near the at-Tawuq district of western Kirkuk on the road to Tikrit at about 2pm local time Thursday afternoon.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in Kirkuk reported witnesses of the at-Tawuq area as saying that a bomb planted by the side of the road to Tikrit blew up as a column of six US armored vehicles and three Humvees passed by. The blast set one of the armored vehicles on fire, killing and wounding the members of its six-man crew.
Resistance attack leaves Filipino contractor dead.
Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded on a road near Kikuk killing a Filipino contractor working with US occupation forces in an armed ambush in Kirkuk on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines, monitored by Mafkarat al-Islam.
Agence France Presse (AFP) reported that the Filipino was an engineer working for the American firm Lucent Technologies, a firm engaged in work on the telecommunications and other infrastructure projects for the occupation authorities Iraq.
Ninwa Province.
Mosul.
Four mercenary “security contractors” killed by Resistance car bomber Thursday morning.
In a bulletin posted at 10: am Mecca time Thursday morning, the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul reported that a short while before an Iraqi Resistance martyrdom fighter drove an explosives-laden car into a column of armor-plated vehicles of the type used by mercenary “security contractors” working for the US occupation forces.
The attack took place on the road leading to the US al-Ghazlani base in the middle of Mosul. Residents of ash-Shaykh Fathi village, which is located near the US base, told the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent that a Resistance fighter in a booby trapped car drove into the midst of a column of armored vehicles and blew up. The blast set three of the armor-plated cars on fire and left seven foreigners dead and another four of them wounded.
Irbil Province.
Irbil.
Resistance car bomb blows up reputed three-story headquarters of “Israeli,” US, British secret services in Irbil.
In a dispatch posted at 5:10pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, the Irbil correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported An Iraqi Resistance car bomb had exploded and totally destroyed a three-story building in the city.
Residents of the area who witnessed the attack, told the correspondent near the scene that the building had been occupied by secret service personnel from “Israel,” the United States, and Great Britain who had come to the village of Qattah, near the center of Irbil.
After the blast, US troops, Iraqi puppet army soldiers, and Kurdish chauvinist Peshmergah militiamen surrounded the area of the building, making it impossible for the correspondent to ascertain the extent and nature of casualties.
Witnesses living in the area around the building told Mafkarat al-Islam that Zionist, American, and British secret service agents were inside the three-story structure when the car bomb exploded and brought it down.
The correspondent reported that there had been no official announcement regarding the attack by US forces or the Kurdish puppet command.
An-Najaf Province.
An-Najaf.
Following a punishing Jaysh al-Mahdi offensive that left 20 pro-American Badr Brigade gunmen dead, Muqtada as-Sadr calls for cease fire.
Supporters of Muqtada as-Sadr warmly welcomed the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam to the al-Hannanah area of an-Najaf and to the home of Muqtada as-Sadr when he arrived to conduct a rare exclusive interview with the Shi‘i religious leader. The interview was granted because of Mafkarat al-Islam’s effort not to discriminate against Sunni or Shi‘i in its coverage. The correspondent reported that other journalists gathered outside the home were struck by the enthusiasm with which the Mafkarat al-Islam reporter was received.
Beginning the interview, Muqtada as-Sadr said that his call Thursday morning for peace and his order to the Jaysh al-Mahdi to withdraw and not inflict any more blows on offices of the Badr Brigades was motivated by his desire not to push things to a point where we would regret the consequences. He said that any Iraqi-Iraqi differences will amount to a point scored by the occupation forces.
As-Sadr told Mafkarat al-Islam, “I have not forgotten what happened yesterday, and I will never forget it a reference to the killing by Badr Brigades of six Jaysh al-Mahdi militiamen and the burning of a Jaysh al-Mahdi office. Translator’s note. But circumstances necessitate a call to calm the situation, and at such time as they the Badr Brigades and SCIRI understand that our call for a ceasefire is not prompted by fear of anyone, but by the need to put the general interest of Iraq in the first place. I think that message has been delivered very clearly.”
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in an-Najaf learned from other private sources in the city after his meeting with Muqtada as-Sadr that the number of Badr Brigade gunmen killed by the Jaysh al-Mahdi in the previous 24 hours was more than 20 in various places; most of them in an-Najaf, al-Basrah, and Baghdad.
At the beginning of his interview with Mafkarat al-Islam, Muqtada as-Sadr asked the correspondent to refer to him in reports as “Muslim leader Muqtada as-Sadr” rather than the “Shi‘i leader” so as to avoid injecting sectarianism into the cause of Iraq and its defense.
Muqtada as-Sadr demands public and official apology from SCIRI chief.
Muqtada as-Sadr addressed a press conference convened in his home in the al-Hannanah area of an-Najaf following the offensive by his Jaysh al-Mahdi militia on the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its armed wing the Badr Brigades throughout Shi‘i sections of Iraq.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent, who attended the press conference in an-Najaf, reported ﾐ in a dispatch posted at 12:27pm Mecca time Thursday ﾐ that in the course of his address, Muqtada as-Sadr demanded that ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Hakim, the head of SCIRI, apologize officially and publicly over the wire services to the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia.
Muqtada as-Sadr said that Iraq cannot take more bloodshed, but that if al-Hakim did not apologize and if an investigation is not launched into the situation, then “things will be difficult.”
Regarding his threat on Wednesday to issue a general call to arms to the Jaysh al-Mahdi, as-Sadr said, “I hope I am not compelled to do that because the situation, as we said, cannot take it, and the American occupation will rejoice at the outbreak of any battles between us.”
Officials of puppet government arrive in an-Najaf to try to get Muqtada as-Sadr to halt his offensive.
In a dispatch posted at 12:45pm Mecca time Thursday, the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in an-Najaf reported that a short while earlier a number of Shi‘i officials in the US-backed puppet government arrived in an-Najaf, the headquarters of the Jaysh al-Mahdi and home of Muqtada as-Sadr in order to try to work out an arrangement to end the Jaysh al-Mahdi offensive on the pro-American Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI).
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent reported that whole neighborhoods have been cordoned off and closed to traffic for fear of possible attacks on the puppet government officials, of whom there are four. It is believed that among them are convicted embezzler and CIA agent Ahmad Chelebi, and Ibrahim al-Ja‘fari, the “Prime Minister” in the US-backed Baghdad regime.
Local people believe that the arrival of the officials to an-Najaf and specifically to the home of Muqtada as-Sadr is with the aim of convincing him to back down from his threat to take up arms a second time. The residents of an-Najaf, as far as the correspondent has observed, hope that as-Sadr will not agree to halt his attacks and end the crisis as the officials will request, because hatred for the Badr Brigades is widespread and deeply felt.
The local residents, the correspondent reported, are in full support of the Jaysh al-Mahdi and Muqtada as-Sadr, something that was clearly evident on Wednesday when they rejoiced at hearing that Badr Brigade gunmen had been killed and wounded in fighting against the Jaysh al-Mahdi.
Al-Muthanna Province.
As-Samawah.
Jaysh al-Mahdi attacks positions of SCIRI, Badr Brigades at midnight.
Mafkarat al-Islam reported Thursday morning that the sound of explosions shook the city at midnight as forces of the Jaysh al-Mahdi, loyal to Shi‘i religious leader Muqtada as-Sadr attacked headquarters of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its armed wing, the Badr Brigades in as-Samawah.
Maysan Province.
Al-‘Amarah.
Jaysh al-Mahdi blasts headquarters of pro-US SCIRI during the night in al-‘Amarah.
The Jaysh al-Mahdi militia mounted full-scale attacks on positions of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its armed wing the Badr Brigades in al-‘Amarah during the night of Wednesday-Thursday. Witnesses told Mafkarat al-Islam that all the local offices of SCIRI were bombarded and destroyed by Jaysh al-Mahdi forces. Fighting raged until 8am local time in al-‘Amarah and the city appeared paralyzed.
Dhi Qar Province.
An-Nasiriyah.
Jaysh al-Mahdi blasts headquarters of pro-US SCIRI during the night in an-Nasiriyah.
The Jaysh al-Mahdi militia mounted full-scale attacks on positions of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its armed wing, the Badr Brigades, in an-Nasiriyah during the night of Wednesday-Thursday. Witnesses told Mafkarat al-Islam that all the local offices of SCIRI were bombarded and destroyed by Jaysh al-Mahdi forces. The SCIRI headquarters in the center of the city was destroyed.
Al-Basrah Province.
Al-Basrah.
Jaysh al-Mahdi militias blast pro-American SCIRI and Badr Brigade offices throughout the city during the night, knock SCIRI radio, TV stations off the air.
At 11pm Wednesday night powerful explosions shoot the east of al-Basrah. The explosions and armed fighting continued until 3am Thursday, after which time intermittent clashes still broke out as the fighting spread to every section of the city.
The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, loyal the Shi‘i religious leader Muqtada as-Sadr came out into the streets of the city and attacked headquarters of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and its armed wing the Badr Brigades throughout all of al-Basrah. In the morning, the correspondent went to a scene where fighting took place and surveyed the extensive damage that had been caused to the SCIRI and Badr Brigade facilities after they had been subjected to violent bombardments. There were three large holes the result of a mortar bombardment and two large holes behind the headquarters. Smoke was still pouring from the facility.
The SCIRI radio and television station in al-Basrah, “an-Nakhil”, has ceased to broadcast and the SCIRI headquarters appeared deserted.
A witness reported that the Thar Allah headquarters and the secret offices of SCIRI were shelled and set on fire during the night.
The atmosphere in the city is pervaded by a certain tension and concern in the aftermath of these events which reflect the extent of the split between Muqtada as-Sadr’s movement which opposes the US occupation and the planned partition of Iraq, and SCIRI which has been a partner in the US invasion and occupation from the beginning and is now a force pushing for Shi‘i separatism under the signboard of “federalism.”
Shi‘i religious leader Muqtada as-Sadr and his movement have enjoyed rapidly rising popularity among young Iraqi Shi‘ah after the Jaysh al-Mahdi uprising against the occupation last year and as as-Sadr has continued to denounce the occupation and urge the need to resist it. As-Sadr’s support for the unity of Iraq and his battle against stooges of foreign powers regardless of whether their religious or ethnic affiliation, as well as his efforts to build bridges to Sunni Iraqis have caused masses of young Iraqis, disaffected by the American occupation and the prospect for partition to flock to his banners.
Jaysh al-Mahdi broadens attacks on more Badr Brigade headquarters during the day Thursday.
In a bulletin posted at 12:18pm Mecca time Thursday, Mafkarat al-Islam reported from al-Basrah that the Jaysh al-Mahdi militia of Muqtada as-Sadr had attacked the main headquarters of the Badr Brigades in al-Basrah. The Badr Brigades are the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a backer of the US occupation.
The al-Basrah correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Jaysh al-Mahdi forces had set fire to the Badr Brigade headquarters after killing four guards and pulling down billboard posters of pro-American Shi‘i religious authority ‘Ali as-Sistani and SCIRI chief ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Hakim in the al-Hayaniyah area.
The correspondent reported that members of the Jaysh al-Mahdi controlled the Badr Brigade headquarters and its environs after the last remnants of the Badr Brigade forces fled.
Earlier, at 10am local time, the Jaysh al-Mahdi had launched a mortar assault on the Badr Brigade headquarters in the al-‘Abbasiyah district of the city in which a number of Badr Brigade gunmen were killed or wounded.
SCIRI admits Jaysh al-Mahdi forces burned down its TV and radio station and newspaper offices in al-Basrah.
In a dispatch posted at 4:58pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam in al-Basrah reported that a spokesman for the pro-American Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) in the city announced that Jaysh al-Mahdi fighters had burned down the studios of “al-Furat” Television and “an-Nakhil” Radio as well as the al-Wahdah newspaper ﾐ all of them official organs of SCIRI under the authority of the Badr Brigades.
Hadi al-Hilfi of the press office of the Badr Brigades issued a press release in al-Basrah on Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in which he said that the TV, radio, and newspaper offices had been completely burned down after coming under fire by the Jaysh al-Mahdi during the night.
The Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent in the city reported from the scene of the attack that Jaysh al-Mahdi forces loyal to Shi‘i Muslim Religious leader Muqtada as-Sadr completely destroyed the buildings.
The statement by al-Hilfi was the first official acknowledgement by SCIRI of the losses it suffered in the Jaysh al-Mahdi offensive
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