Official Lies over Najaf Battle Exposed

January 31, 2007

Inter Press Service
Dahr Jamail and Ali al-Fadhily

NAJAF, Iraq, Jan 31 (IPS) - Iraqi government lies over the killing of hundreds of Shias in an attack on Sunday stand exposed by independent investigations carried out by IPS in Iraq.

Conflicting reports had arisen earlier on how and why a huge battle broke out around the small village Zarqa, located just a few kilometres northeast of the Shia holy city Najaf, which is 90 km south of Baghdad.

One thing certain is that when the smoke cleared, more than 200 people lay dead after more than half a day of fighting Sunday Jan. 28. A U.S. helicopter was shot down, killing two soldiers. Twenty-five members of the Iraqi security force were also killed.

"We were going to conduct the usual ceremonies that we conduct every year when we were attacked by Iraqi soldiers," Jabbar al-Hatami, a leader of the al-Hatami Shia Arab tribe told IPS.

"We thought it was one of the usual mistakes of the Iraqi army killing civilians, so we advanced to explain to the soldiers that they killed five of us for no reason. But we were surprised by more gunfire from the soldiers."

The confrontation took place on the Shia holiday of Ashura which commemorates Imam Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhammad and the most revered of Shia saints. Emotions run high at this time, and self-flagellation in public is the norm.

Many southern Shia Arabs do not follow Iranian-born cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. They believe the religious leadership should be kept in the hands of Arab clerics. Al-Hatami and al-Khazaali are two major tribes that do not follow Sistani.

Tribal members from both believe the attack was launched by the central government of Baghdad to stifle growing Shia-Sunni unity in the area.

"Our convoy was close to the al-Hatami convoy on the way to Najaf when we heard the massive shooting, and so we ran to help them because our tribe and theirs are bound with a strong alliance," a 45-year-old man who asked to be referred to as Ahmed told IPS.

Ahmed, a member of the al-Khazali tribe said "our two tribes have a strong belief that Iranians are provoking sectarian war in Iraq which is against the belief of all Muslims, and so we announced an alliance with Sunni brothers against any sectarian violence in the country. That did not make our Iranian dominated government happy."

The fighting took place on the Diwaniya-Najaf road and spread into nearby date-palm plantations after pilgrims sought refuge there.

"American helicopters participated in the slaughter," Jassim Abbas, a farmer from the area told IPS. "They were soon there to kill those pilgrims without hesitation, but they were never there for helping Iraqis in anything they need. We just watched them getting killed group by group while trapped in those plantations."

Much of the killing was done by U.S. and British warplanes, eyewitnesses said.

Local authorities including the office of Najaf Governor Asaad Abu Khalil who is a member of the pro-Iranian Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) had claimed before the killings that a group of primarily foreign Sunni fighters with links to al-Qaeda had planned to disrupt the Ashura festival by attacking Shia pilgrims and senior ayatollahs in Najaf. The city is the principal seat of religious learning for Shias in Iraq.

Officials claimed that Iraqi security forces had obtained intelligence information from two detained men that had led the Iraqi Scorpion commando squad to prepare for an attack. The intelligence claimed obviously had little impact on how events unfolded.

Minister of Interior Jawad al-Bolani announced to reporters at 9 am Sunday morning that Najaf was being attacked by al-Qaeda. Immediately following this announcement the Ministry of National Security (MNS) announced that the dead were members of the Shia splinter extremist group Jund al-Sama (Army of Heaven) who were out to kill senior ayatollahs in Najaf, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

Iraq's national security advisor Muaffaq al-Rubaii said just 15 minutes after the MNS announcement that hundreds of Arab fighters had been killed, and that many had been arrested. Rubaii claimed there were Saudis, Yemenis, Egyptians and Afghans.

But Governor Khalil's office backed away from its initial claims after the dead turned out to be local Shia Iraqis. Iraqi security officials continue to contradict their own statements. Most officials now say that the dead were Shia extremists supported by foreign powers.

The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has a pattern of announcing it is fighting terrorists, like its backers in Washington. Many Iraqis in the south now accuse Baghdad of calling them terrorists simply because they refuse to collaborate with the Iranian dominated government.

(Ali al-Fadhily is our Baghdad correspondent. Dahr Jamail is our specialist writer who has spent eight months reporting from inside Iraq and has been covering the Middle East for several years.)

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The Battle at Najaf: Competing Narratives

Editor's note: I am moving over to the other blog(see new articles below, too).
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Juan Cole

Fighters for Shiite Messiah Clash with Najaf Security, 250 Dead

Well, a big battle took place at the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Saturday night into Sunday, but there are several contradictory narratives about its significance. Iraqi authorities, claimed that the Iraqi army killed a lot of the militants (250) but only took 25 casualties itself. The Shiite governor of Najaf implied that the guerrillas were Sunni Arabs and had several foreign Sunni fundamentalist fighters ("Afghans") among them. He said that they based themselves in an orchard recently purchased by Baathists. Other sources said that the militants were Shiites. I'd take the claim of numbers killed with a large grain of salt, though the Iraqi forces did have US close air support. I infer that the guerrillas shot down one US helicopter.

That's one narrative. Here is another. The pan-Arab London daily al-Hayat reported that the militiamen were followers of Mahmud al-Hasani al-Sarkhi. It says one of his followers asserted that the fighting erupted when American and Iraqi troops attempted to arrest al-Hasani al-Sarkhi. The latter tried last summer to take over the shrine of al-Husayn in Karbala. It may have been feared that he would take advantage of the chaos of the Muharram pilgrimage season to make a play for power in Najaf. Al-Hayat says that although As'ad Abu Kalil, governor of Najaf, said the attackers were Sunnis, the director of the information center in Najaf, Ahmad Abdul Husayn Du'aybil, contradicted him. The latter said, "At dawn, today [Sunday], violent clashes took place between security forces and an armed militia calling itself "the Army of Heaven," which claims that the Imam Mahdi will [soon] appear." He added, "The goal of this militia is the killing of clergymen and the grand ayatollahs." The group follows Ayatollah Ahmad al-Hasani al-Sarkhi, called al-Yamani, who is said by his followers to be in direct touch with the Hidden Imam or promised one. In the fighting 10 Iraqi security police were killed and 17 wounded. One official said that the death toll among the militants was not known.

Al-Hayat, however, quotes a member of the group, Abu al-Hasan, who is said to be close to al-Hasani al-Sarkhi. He said that the rumors that the group intended to conduct a campaign of assassinations inside Najaf was "devoid of truth." It says that an attempt had been made to arrest al-Hasani al-Sarkhi, who was present in the al-Zarkah, an agricultural area east of Najaf, which caused his followers to revolt.

Al-Hasani al-Sarkhi's followers had earlier burned down the Iranian consulates at Basra and Karbala, and demonstrated in Hilla and elsewhere.

Sawt al-Iraq in Arabic says that a number of al-Hasani al-Sarkhi's aides were arrested early last week as part of the current crackdown in preparation for the American surge.

Then there is yet a third narrative. Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that on Saturday night into Sunday morning, a Shiite millenarian militia calling itself "The Army of Heaven" (Jund al-Sama') attempted to move south from the Zarqa orchards just north of Najaf to assassinate the four grand ayatollahs of Najaf-- Ali Sistani, Bashir Najafi, Muhammad Ishaq Fayyad and Muhammad Said al-Hakim. The holy city of Najaf, where Ali is buried, is the seat of Shiite religious authority in Iraq. The militiamen, devotees of an obscure religious leader named Ahmad Hassaani, are said to have infiltrated the area from Hillah, Kut and Amara. The well-armed, black-clad militiamen were heard to call upon the Mahdi, the awaited Promised One of the Muslims, to return on that night.

This group is not the Mahdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr, which bears no enmity toward the grand ayatollahs, but rather a separate and different sect altogether. Shiite clerics told the NYT that the sect is the Mahdawiya of Ahmad al-Basri (possibly Ahmad Hassaani al-Basri?). Although the NYT was told that this millenarian sect (it believes that the end of time is around the corner) was supported by Saddam, you can't pay any attention to that sort of allegation when it comes to Iraqi sectarianism.

It seems most likely that this was Shiite on Shiite violence, with millenarian cultists making an attempt to march on Najaf during the chaos of the ritual season of Muharram. But who knows? It is also possible that the orthodox Shiites in control of Najaf hate the heretic millenarians and the threat of the latter was exaggerated. Darned if I know. The reports of the Army of Heaven being so well armed make no sense if it was a ragtag millenarian band. But those reports could be exaggerations, too.

It seems most likely that the Mahdawiya is the sect of Sheikh Mahmud al-Hasani al-Sarkhi and that al-Basri was the founder of the sect. That would be a way of reconciling al-Zaman with al-Hayat.

The dangers of Shiite on Shiite violence in Iraq are substantial, as this episode demonstrated. Ironically, given Bush's mantra about Iran, the trouble makers here are a sect that absolutely hates Iran.

Iraqi cult leader killed in Najaf battle

By Khaled Farhan 43 minutes ago

The leader of an Iraqi cult who claimed to be the Mahdi, a messiah-like figure in Islam, was killed in a battle on Sunday near Najaf with hundreds of his followers, Iraq's national security minister said on Monday.

Women and children who joined 600-700 of his "Soldiers of Heaven" on the outskirts of the Shi'ite holy city may be among the casualties, Shirwan al-Waeli told Reuters. All those people not killed were in detention, many of them wounded.

Iraqi troops, backed by U.S. forces, confronted the group after learning it was planning an attack on the Shi'ite clerical establishment in Najaf on Monday.

"One of the signs of the coming of the Mahdi was to be the killing of the Ulema (hierarchy) in Najaf," Waeli said. "This was a perverse claim. No sane person could believe it."

Authorities have been on alert for days as hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite Muslims massed in the area to commemorate Ashura, the highpoint of their religious calendar, amid fears of attacks by Sunni Arab insurgents linked to al Qaeda.

But Sunday's battle involved a group of a different sort, a cult which Iraqi officials said included both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims as well as foreigners.

"He claimed to be the Mahdi," Waeli said of the cult's leader, adding that he had used the full name Mahdi bin Ali bin Ali bin Abi Taleb, claiming descent from the Prophet Mohammad.

He was believed to be a 40-year-old from the nearby Shi'ite city of Diwaniya: "He was killed," Waeli said.

The final death toll, estimated by other Iraqi officials at 300 gunmen, was still being calculated, Waeli said, putting the initial figure at about 200. Searchers were still scouring the area where U.S. tanks, helicopters and jets reinforced Iraqi troops during some 24 hours of fighting.

Though Sunnis and Shi'ites are engaged in an embryonic sectarian civil war in Iraq, there have been instances in Islamic history where groups drawn from both communities have challenged the authority of the existing clerical leadership.

"SOLDIERS OF HEAVEN"

The U.S. military declined to provide details. It officially handed over responsibility for Najaf province, in southern Iraq, to Iraqi security forces last month and withdrew most U.S. troops, to be recalled only to help in emergencies.

A government statement said the group was planning "a dangerous criminal act" in Najaf.

"An ideologically perverted group ... tried to insult an Islamic holy symbol, the Imam Mahdi, and use him as an ideological base to recruit followers," the statement said.

Waeli said the death toll among Iraqi forces was around 10 soldiers and police. Najaf's police chief was wounded, he said.

Two U.S. soldiers were killed when their attack helicopter came down during the fighting, the U.S. military said. Iraqi officials and witnesses said it appeared to have been shot down.

Some of the fighters wore headbands describing themselves as "Soldiers of Heaven," Iraqi officials said. It was not clear how many women and children were present: "It is very sad to bring families onto the battlefield," Waeli said.

When police first approached the camp and tried to call on the group to leave, their leader replied: "I am the Mahdi and I want you to join me," Waeli said, adding: "Today was supposed to be the day of his coming."

Other Iraqi officials said on Sunday that a man named Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni, who had been working from an office in Najaf until it was closed down earlier this month, had assembled the group, claiming to be the messenger of the Mahdi.

Among previous violent instances of people saying they were the Mahdi were an opposition movement to British imperial forces in Sudan in the 1880s and a group of several hundred, including women, that took over the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979.

There are precedents in Islamic history for such violent cults. They have declared temporal Muslim leaders illegitimate infidels and have drawn followers from both Sunni and Shi'ite believers, proclaiming a unity of inspiration from Mohammad.

As many as 2 million pilgrims gathered in Kerbala, 70 km (40 miles) north of Najaf, for the climax of Ashura on Monday and 11,000 troops and police were deployed.

More than 100 people were killed there by suicide bombers three years ago, as Shi'ites marked the first Ashura after the end of restrictions imposed by Saddam Hussein's Sunni-led state.

(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny, Aseel Kami, Ross Colvin, Claudia Parsons and Alastair Macdonald in Baghdad)

The US Pours Gasoline On A Raging Inferno (Again)

Jan 29, 2007

"Islam doesn't have a Pope. So there isn't one guy who can say, 'This isn't kosher.'"

-- Fareed Zakaria

That's why I love Fareed. He's got a grasp on the situation. He can break it down for you in simple terms that make it clear where the problems are. And he brings the funny. Unfortunately, you have to work really hard to find the funny in Iraq these days.

The recent reports of massive military operations are going to get all sorts of attention the next few weeks. Early reports aren't doing anything to brighten my spirits. However, it is still crucial we get a clear sense of the situation so we can see where the problems are, even if Dubya & Friends can't be bothered.

I know that the recent operation in Najaf is going to be played out as some sort of victory vindicating the Decider's^TM New and Improved Strategy For Victory^TM. In reality, this is like trying to quell unrest in Northern Ireland by helping Protestants kill Catholics at the start of Lent.

Actually, it is worse.

Four things you need to know

1)Sunni vs. Shi'ite
2)Where is Najaf?
3)What is Ashura?
4)Who is Muqtada al Sadr?

A couple of other things will shake out from these four main points, but these are critical. If you can't follow this, the spinmeisters in the Right Wing Echo Chamber will play you like a fool. Glenn Beck will have a field day with you. You don't want to be played for a fool, right?

Sunni vs. Shi'ite.
Basically, it boils down to whether you believe that Mohammed's successor had to be from his blood line or if any man could potentially have taken the job. The split is evident in the profession of faith, called the Shehada, used by the two sects.

The Shia say:

There is no god but Alláh, Muhammad is the Messenger of Alláh, Alí is the Friend of Alláh. The Successor of the Messenger of Alláh And his first Caliph."

The Sunni leave out the stuff about Ali. Unfortunately for the Shia, Ali's blood line was exterminated in 873 CE. They don't buy it and prefer to believe the final Caliph is "hidden" and will return some day to lead them. While they are waiting the Ulema, or council of Ayatollahs, plays the role of central dispenser of all laws and edicts. The Sunnis of course don't recognize the authority of the Ulema.

It's not a perfect analogy but think of it as similar to comparing Roman Catholics to Baptists.

When you look at a map of Iraq, you find the Sunni and Shia are spread out, with some mixing in the South. Note that Najaf is predominantly Shia territory. Najaf is actually a central place for Shia, second only to the Iranian city of Qom as a center of spiritual learning. It has tons of mosques and universities. If you follow the river North, before you hit Fallujah, you wind up at Karbala. That's a really important city. Ali was slaughtered with his troops in Karbala trying to regain control of Caliphate. His tomb is there.

What is Ashura?
Ashura is the most solemn holy commemoration on the Shia calendar. The observance of Ashura was outlawed by Saddam. Ashura commemorates the death of Mohammed's grandson, Ali. The death of Ali is observed by Shia with pilgrimages to Karbala. Only Mecca and Medina see more pilgrims. Unlike the pilgrimage to Mecca, this one is full of sadness and grief. Ali's martyrdom is widely interpreted by Shi'a as a symbol of the struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression. They beat their chests and flagellate themselves in an effort to connect with his suffering. The pictures you see of people walking through the streets bleeding come from these processions. Think of it as Yom Kippur or Lent, but with a severe beating. Oh, by the way, today is the first day of Ashura. It lasts for 10 days.

What about Muqtada al Sadr?
He is the leader of the largest Shi'ite militia in the country. Najaf and Karbala are completely in his area of operations. Controlling Karbala means he controls the tomb of Ali. That is a major source of revenue. Think of it as controlling St. Peter's Basilica, the most prominent basilica outside of Vatican City. Imagine the revenue stream.

Sadr's militias are the same militias that everyone has been telling Maliki he needs to stand up to if they are going to take him seriously. Taking on the Mahdi Army is easier said then done. A US sponsored poll in 2004 found that 2/3 of the people in Iraq support Sadr.

To Sum Up
US forces just had a knock down fight which resulted in the death of hundreds of "insurgents" just north of Najaf. This is Shi'ite territory. The main fighting force in the area is a Shi'ite militia with significant local support. The fighting occured just as the Shia enter the holiest period of mourning on their calendar. For the next couple of weeks, Shia are going to be streaming in to the area as pilgrims commemorating an historic event that symbolizes the ongoing struggle against injustice, tyranny, and oppression.

Oh...and another thing... The heaviest concentration of Shia Muslims outside of Iraq is in ... IRAN. A lot of Iranians make that pilgrimage now that Saddam is gone. Remember that edict from Dubya that authorizes the killing of any Iranians caught in Iraq? Depending on your point of view, Bush could not have picked a better (or worse) time to declare open season on Iranian pilgrims.

We're going to see a lot of images over the next couple of weeks from this area. I am certain the media is not going to draw any of the distinctions I have laid out here. As far as they are concerned, this is just more of the "we're fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" meme. As you can see the differences are important.

If I am correct, the US just poured gasoline on a fire that was already burning out of control.