Salon.com > Qassim Abdul-zahra

Radical cleric returns to Iraq from exile

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, a fierce opponent of the United States and head of Iraq's most feared militia, came home Wednesday after nearly four years in self-imposed exile in Iran, welcomed by hundreds of cheering supporters in a return that solidifies the rise of his movement.

Al-Sadr's presence in Iraq ensures he will be a powerful voice in Iraqi politics as U.S. forces leave the country. He left Iraq in 2007 somewhat as a renegade, a firebrand populist whose militiamen battled American troops and Iraqi forces. He returns a more legitimized figure, leading an organized political movement that is a vital partner in the new government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Al-Sadr can wield a bully pulpit to put strong pressure on al-Maliki -- and is likely to demand that no American troops remain beyond their scheduled final withdrawal date at the end of this year. His return caused trepidation among many Iraqis, particularly Sunnis who remember vividly the sectarian killings carried out by his militia, the Mahdi Army, and believe he is a tool of Iran.

But his supporters were jubilant.

Officials say 9/11-style plot in Iraq foiled

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:05:00 +0000

Iraqi and U.S. security officials say Iraqi forces have foiled an al-Qaida in Iraq plot for a 9/11-style attack to hijack airlines and fly them into Shiite holy shrines.

Two senior Iraqi officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday they have arrested two men allegedly linked to the plan, which shut down the airport in Najaf for days and Baghdad airport for hours last week.

Two senior U.S. intelligence officials in Washington confirmed the plot but said it's doubtful the alleged plotters were very far along in their planning -- or even had the ability to carry it out.

The officials say the plan was aimed at re-igniting sectarian violence.

All spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Al-Qaida in Iraq says it’s behind embassy hits

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:15:27 +0000

An al-Qaida front group claimed Friday that it carried out triple suicide bombings outside foreign embassies, underscoring U.S. and Iraqi fears the terror group is attempting to make a comeback.

The bombings were part of a wave of attacks over the last week that claimed about 120 lives in and around Baghdad, which al-Qaida in Iraq appears to have designated its battleground to drag the country into civil war.

National security officials in Baghdad and Washington said the terror network is looking to exploit political chaos left by the disputed March 7 parliamentary elections to regroup. The unrelenting violence also has cast doubt on the abilities of Iraqi security forces that are responsible for protecting the country while American forces begin to head home.

Al-Qaida sees "a very small window of opportunity before this government forms," U.S. Brig. Gen. Ralph Baker said in an interview Friday.

He said it was still unclear "whether we're seeing a resurgence, or whether we're seeing a gasp and a surge, a last-ditch effort to reassert themselves." But, he said, the latter "would be my best opinion at this point."

Suicide bombers target embassies in Iraq, kill 42

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:57:00 +0000

Suicide attackers detonated three car bombs in quick succession near foreign embassies in Baghdad on Sunday, killing more than 40 people in coordinated strikes that Iraqi officials said were intended to disrupt efforts to form a new government.

The bombings followed the execution-style killings of 24 villagers in a Sunni area two days earlier, a spike in violence that suggests insurgents are seizing on the political uncertainty after the recent election to try to destabilize the country as U.S. troops prepare to leave. No clear winner emerged from the March 7 vote.

Sunday's explosions went off within minutes of each other, starting shortly after 11 a.m. One struck near the Iranian Embassy and two others hit an area that houses several diplomatic missions, including the Egyptian Consulate and the German and Spanish embassies. It was not immediately known whether diplomatic staff were among the victims.

Authorities said they foiled two other attacks aimed at diplomatic targets by stopping the would-be bombers' vehicles and defusing the explosives.

Stunned victims in bloody clothes were loaded into ambulances as gray smoke rose over Baghdad.