/ 26 May 2007

Iraq’s Mehdi Army vows revenge on British troops

The Mehdi Army Shi’ite militia vowed on Friday night to conduct revenge attacks on British soldiers in southern Iraq after its Basra leader was killed by Iraqi special forces in an operation supported by British troops.

Wissam Abu Qader, described by British officials as responsible for criminal activities and attacks against foreign troops, was killed shortly after leaving Friday prayers. A British army spokesperson said he died while trying to resist arrest. An Iraqi military intelligence officer said he was travelling in a car with two other men when it came under fire.

Major David Gell, a British army spokesperson in Basra, said the operation was authorised by the Iraqi government. Iraqi special forces ”initiated the operation” with about 200 British troops from the Second Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and Fourth Battalion the Rifles ”present as advisers”, the army said in a statement.

But the Mehdi Army blamed an Iraqi army hit squad, which it says works with the British, for the killing, and promised swift revenge. ”The Mehdi Army will attack any British unit, they will see to avenge his killing,” said a mid-ranking commander, Abu Mujtaba. ”Our men are moving all over Basra now in civilian cars carrying RPGs and weapons. We have the full cooperation of the police who will inform us on any moving British vehicles.”

The incident came just hours after the militia’s leader in Iraq, the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, resurfaced after keeping a low profile for four months, portraying himself as a nationalist leader committed to the political process. He called on his militia to stop attacks on Iraqi security forces.

”I renew my demand for the occupiers to leave or to draw up a timetable for withdrawal, and I ask the government not to let the occupiers extend their occupation even for one day,” al-Sadr told thousands of worshippers. US military officials say al-Sadr fled to Iran in January before the Baghdad security ”surge”, but aides to the young cleric insist he never left Iraq.

The British army on Friday said Qader was a ”known key criminal leader who was believed to have been involved in criminal activity such as weapons trafficking, theft and assassinations”.

”He was also suspected of intimidation against local security forces and local civilians in Basra and planning and participating in attacks against MNF [multinational forces].” It described him as a ”prominent member of the militant arm of Jaish al-Mahdi in the Basra area”. ”The citizens of Basra are far safer now that the criminal leader is off the streets.”

But the Iraqi military intelligence officer in Basra told the Guardian that Qader was known for instilling restraint in his men, and said his absence could unleash new violence on the city.

”He was a very good person, serious and was working very hard to stabilise Basra,” the officer said. ”He used to restrain his men from going into clashes against other militias. He was a nationalist who had no connections to Iran. There will be repercussions as his men will accuse Fadhila [a rival Shi’ite faction] and they will try to avenge his death.”

On Friday night, locals reported scores of armed men gathering around al-Sadr’s offices in Basra.

In Washington, the leading Democratic candidates in the 2008 presidential race, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, voted against a Bill in the Senate to fund the war in Iraq. Clinton, who voted for the war, has been under pressure from grassroots Democrats to adopt a more anti-war position.

The Bill, from which the Democrats were forced to drop a withdrawal timetable, was passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. President George Bush was due to sign it on Friday. — Guardian Unlimited Â