Shiite Gunmen Attack U.K. Patrols in Basra NAJAF, Iraq - Gunmen attacked British patrols in Basra and clashed with coalition troops Saturday in two other southern cities, a day after a Shiite cleric's aide offered worshippers money for killing or capturing soldiers.
The aide, Sheik Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli, offered the rewards in response to the mistreatment and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. guards � a sign that the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib was spilling over into the confrontation between U.S. troops and the al- Mahdi Army militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr also pointed to Abu Ghraib in a sermon he delivered at Friday prayers in Kufa before thousands of worshippers. "What sort of freedom and democracy can we expect from you (Americans) when you take such joy in torturing Iraqi prisoners?" al-Sadr said, his shoulders draped with a white coffin shroud symbolizing his readiness for martyrdom. The new commander of Abu Ghraib, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, blamed the prison's former leadership for the abuse committed late last year, saying "leaders and soldiers (were) not following the authorized policy and lack of leadership and supervision." Miller defended recommendations he made to Abu Ghraib's commanders in September that Military Police help gather intelligence from detainees to help interrogations � a policy that investigators have cited as possibly leading to the mistreatment of prisoners. Miller said the recommendations were that MP guards help in "passive intelligence collection," meaning they observe the detainees and pass information about them to interrogators. "There was no recommendation ever by this team that recommended that the MPs become actively involved in interrogation," he told reporters. An investigation into the abuse by Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba said Miller's team recommended that guards be "actively engaged in setting the conditions" for interrogations, a policy Taguba said "runs counter to the smooth operation of a detention facility." Miller, the former commander of detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, was brought in to head Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq (news - web sites) last month after the suspension of Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who headed the facility at the time of the abuse. Also Saturday, a U.S. military convoy was attacked on the main highway near Abu Ghraib, destroying an SUV that burst into flames. After the attack, children cheered around the burning car, shouting "Long live al-Sadr!" until U.S. troops opened fire nearby, scattering the children. Witnesses reported four Westerners were in the car, but there was no immediate confirmation of casualties. Saturday's clashes in the cities of Amarah and Basra were the strongest show of force in the area in days by the al-Mahdi Army � perhaps an attempt to raise a diversion while the U.S military intensifies its crackdown on al-Sadr in the holy cities he controls, Najaf, Kufa and Karbala to the northwest. U.S. forces have been gradually moving against al-Sadr strongpoints in those cities. Fighting in Karbala and Najaf on Friday killed at least 23 Iraqis, including six members of a family. U.S. troops backed by tanks entered Karbala from two directions on Saturday, blocking roads leading to the Imam Hussein Shrine at the city center. Troops traded fire with al-Sadr gunmen, and two armored vehicles were seen in flames. Coalition troops also arrested al-Sadr's main representative in the southern city of Nasiriyah, Sheik Moayad al-Asadi, coalition officials said. Gen. Francesco Paolo Spagnuolo, the commander of the Italian troops in Basra said Italian Carabinieri in Nasiriyah arrested three Iraqis suspected of links to al-Sadr and of planning attacks on the coalition. Hundreds of black-garbed al-Mahdi Army militia massed in Basra's streets, attacking passing British patrols and sparking skirmishes in several neighborhoods. At least two Iraqis were killed and three British soldiers wounded, a British military spokesman said. British troops repelled an attack by gunmen on the governor's building. British armored vehicles pursued large numbers of gunmen into Basra's impoverished Hanaya neighborhood. Unable to enter the district's small alleys, the British traded fire with militiamen firing from behind buildings. British troops in some 50 vehicles surrounded al-Sadr's headquarters in an hours-long standoff with militiamen inside. The British Ministry of Defense said troops had quelled the uprising. By the afternoon, the situation was "under control," a ministry spokesman said. A fierce gunbattle broke out in front of the Iraqi Central Bank, and gunmen seized a key bridge on the main route from the city to points south. Al-Bahadli led a group of dozens of gunmen who took control of a main intersection on the southern side of Basra, witnesses said. Gunmen attacked a military convoy outside Amarah, lightly wounding two British soldiers and sparking shootouts in several parts of the city, as helicopter gunships hovered overhead to provide support. British troops swept briefly into al-Sadr's office in the city, witnesses said. Witnesses reported nine militiamen killed in the fighting, and one child was killed when his house was struck by a projectile. Also Saturday, attackers set off a bomb outside the house of a police official in the town of Habhab, 35 miles north of Baghdad. The blast killed two women and a man from the official's family, doctors said. A Polish soldier was killed after walking into an "improvised booby trap with explosives" near the city of Imam, Polish Lt. Col. Robert Strzelecki said. Near Karbala, one Polish soldier was killed and two others injured in a road accident, when a civilian truck hit their vehicle in a convoy, sending it rolling down an embankment. "This is basically the worst day (so far) for Poland," Strzelecki said. On Friday, Poland's best-known war reporter, Waldemar Milewicz, was killed along with a colleague by gunmen who ambushed their TV crew on a road south of Baghdad. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/BRUplB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.arsip.da.ru *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. 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