BAGHDAD, Iraq – Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday called upon followers inside his stronghold of Sadr City to resist U.S. forces who are trying to stabilize the capital. Officials in his organization said the cleric was advocating a peaceful uprising.
“Raise your voices, all of you loving your brothers and united against your enemy saying as your leader taught you: ‘No America, no Israel, no, no Satan,’ by standing and demonstrating that way,” al-Sadr said in a message distributed at the Kufa mosque in southern Iraq, according to a translation by the Washington-based SITE Institute, which tracks militant groups. In recent weeks, al-Sadr has appeared to cooperate with U.S. and Iraqi troops as they implement a month-old security plan in Baghdad and other parts of the country, even as he has continued to criticize the U.S. presence in Iraq.
On Friday, thousands of al-Sadr’s followers demonstrated in several parts of Iraq, including Sadr City, to protest the U.S. role. They denounced the neighborhood security outposts and garrisons being set up under the plan and demanded a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Al-Sadr’s statement came one day after gunmen attacked a convoy carrying the mayor of Sadr City, Rahim al-Darraji, leaving him seriously wounded and killing at least two of his bodyguards. Al-Darraji, an al-Sadr appointee, took part in negotiations with U.S. officials to allow American troops to conduct security sweeps and build a garrison in Sadr City.
It was unclear whether al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia has often attacked U.S. and Iraqi forces, was issuing a call to arms. “The statement calls for calming down and self-control and to be careful and cautious of the occupation forces and their agents, because we have become surrounded by them from all sides,” said Haider al-Tarfy, a senior al-Sadr representative. Friday’s communique was not al-Sadr’s first condemnation of the U.S. presence.
As U.S. troops have carried out raids through Sadr City as part of the security plan, the Mahdi Army has lain low. Friday’s statement appeared to address recent public comments by U.S. military officials that the militia’s low profile represented tacit cooperation with the security plan.
“And here you are standing up for the support of your beloved city; this city which the occupier wanted to harm, and tarnish its reputation by spreading false propaganda and rumors and claiming that there are negotiation and collaboration between you and them,” the statement continued. “But I am sure that you consider them as your enemies.”
One high-level Sadr City official said Friday that he believed al-Darraji was targeted for working with the Americans and backing the security plan, and that al-Sadr’s militia was likely to blame. He declined to be identified further out of fear for his life.
The official said the shooting could jeopardize the calm in Sadr City, causing residents to turn against the security plan and possibly leading to a return to violence.
One Mahdi Army leader denied the militia was behind the shooting. Hamza Hussein, who leads a small team of fighters, said the Mahdi Army has no interest in stirring new chaos.
“People are becoming thirsty for peace, for security, right now,” Hussein said. “We all depend on the government and the security forces.”
In other news, thousands of additional U.S. military support troops are flowing into Iraq to bolster the increase of 21,500 combat troops ordered by President Bush in January, bringing the total to about 28,700.
The Army announced Friday that it will accelerate by 45 days the deployment of more than 2,600 troops with the 3rd Infantry Division’s combat aviation brigade, based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga. The unit will provide attack aircraft and medical-evacuation and transport helicopters to assist ground troops.
In Washington, D.C., thousands of Christians prayed for peace at an anti-war service Friday night at the Washington National Cathedral, kicking off a weekend of protests around the country to mark the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.
The latest identifications reported by the U.S. military of personnel recently killed in Iraq:
Army Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Stone, 49, Taylorsville, Utah; died Sunday north of Baghdad in a noncombat-related incident; assigned to the 96th Regional Readiness Command, Salt Lake City.
Marine Lance Cpl. Nathanial Windsor, 20, Scappoose, Ore.; killed Tuesday during combat in Anbar province; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Marine Pfc. Angel Rosa, 21, South Portland, Maine; killed Wednesday during combat in Anbar province; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Marine Lance Cpl. Steven Chavez, 20, Hondo, N.M.; died Wednesday from a noncombat incident in Anbar province; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
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