US will intensify fight against al-Qaeda after al-Sadr militia freeze
- From: Joe Avelon <javalon2a@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:30:04 -0500
The US military said on Saturday the freeze on militia activities by Iraq's Shiite Mahdi Army will help in the fight against Al-Qaeda, blamed for some of the bloodiest attacks in the war-ravaged country.
The US assessment came as latest figures from Iraqi ministries showed that the death toll from insurgent attacks and sectarian violence had risen in August, despite a US troop "surge" launched in February.
A US statement said radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's decision to rein in his feared Mahdi Army would help American and Iraqi forces "intensify their focus on Al-Qaeda-Iraq without distraction from Jaysh al-Mahdi attacks."
"Moqtada al-Sadr's declaration holds the potential to reduce criminal activity and help reunite Iraqis separated by ethno-sectarian violence and fear," the US statement said.
Sadr on Wednesday ordered his militia to suspend all activities for six months after it was blamed for gunbattles with police in the shrine city of Karbala that left 52 people dead and turned a Shiite pilgrimage into a bloodbath.
In December, the Pentagon had identified the militia as the biggest threat to stability in Iraq, even ahead of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the local affiliate of Osama bin Laden's global jihadi network.
The office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, under fire for failing to bring security and stability to Iraq, said Sadr's order was "an opportunity for other militias of different political affiliations" to lay down their arms and help reduce bloodshed.
The US military has in the past year stepped up efforts to secure the support of Sunni rebel groups to help Iraqi forces fight Al-Qaeda.
Sunni insurgent groups such as the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution sprang up across Iraq declaring war against US-led forces when they invaded in 2003 and toppled Saddam's Sunni Arab regime.
The US military said this week the Brigades are among Sunni groups who are now helping fight a collective battle against Al-Qaeda which US generals say is responsible for much of the violence besetting the country.
On August 14, in the worst attack since the invasion, more than 400 people were slaughtered in two northern villages inhabited by the minority Yazidi community. The military blamed the attacks on Al-Qaeda.
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The "Surge" is working.
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