Hawai'i troops battle militia of Shiite cleric
By Edmund Sanders
Los Angeles Times
Associated Press
KUFA, Iraq — A five-hour firefight erupted in palm groves along the Euphrates River yesterday between Hawai'i-based troops and militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the first major combat engagement between the two sides since U.S. forces converged in the area on a mission to capture or kill al-Sadr.
An Iraqi man is interrogated after U.S. troops found posters of firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in his car at a traffic checkpoint on the outskirts of Najaf, Iraq.
Three soldiers were wounded, including one who was shot in the head and was not expected to survive. About 20 members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army were believed killed in the battle along a two-mile stretch of palm trees on the opposite side of the river from Kufa, U.S. authorities said.
The intense battle outside this southern Iraq city raised new questions about whether a peaceful resolution can be negotiated in the standoff between al-Sadr, a vociferous critic of the U.S.-led occupation, and U.S. authorities, who accuse the firebrand cleric of inciting violence and plotting the murder of a rival Shiite religious leader.
Al-Sadr's supporters seized Kufa and the neighboring holy city of Najaf early this month after a series of skirmishes in Baghdad with U.S. troops. Several Shiite religious leaders, along with a delegation of Iranians, have since sought with limited success to broker a resolution to the standoff between the young cleric and the United States.
In recent days, several brief battles have broken out between U.S. troops and al-Sadr's militia on the outskirts of Kufa and Najaf. During the much more extensive battle yesterday, U.S. troops dropped more than 150 mortars on al-Sadr's forces after surrounding them.
Up to 40 members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army engaged in the fierce fight with about 130 troops from Schofield Barracks, according to Capt. Chris Budihas of the 25th Infantry Division (Light), 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, the unit involved in the fighting.
When al-Sadr's forces began to weaken after several hours of bombardment, reinforcements arrived in boats and across the bridge from the town of Kufa. Other al-Sadr militiamen began spraying machine-gun fire across the river at U.S. soldiers.
"He's got a sizable force, and now we can see that they are willing to fight," Budihas said.
U.S. snipers killed at least three al-Sadr followers as they attempted to cross the river, but U.S. troops decided to pull back rather than risk having the fight spread into the city.
U.S. officials have promised to attempt to keep any fighting outside of Kufa and Najaf — which border each other — because of the religious and historical significance of the cities.
Earlier this week, Shiite leaders expressed outrage when a U.S. military convoy raced through the main streets of Kufa after being ambushed in a traffic circle just outside the city limits. The high-speed gunbattle, which moved past the revered Kufa mosque, led to the death of at least eight Iraqis.
While trying to stay out of the towns, U.S. forces have stepped up attempts to capture al-Sadr followers on the outskirts of the cities.
As part of that effort, U.S. troops returned to that same traffic circle yesterday, this time with tanks and armored vehicles. Al-Sadr forces fired at least six rocket-propelled grenades, briefly setting a tank on fire. During the fighting at the traffic circle, the U.S. soldier was shot in the head.
Associated Press
The two other wounded American troops were hit with shrapnel from an RPG during the larger battle about an hour later and a mile away, deep inside the groves.
A suspected follower of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr awaits interrogation at a U.S. base outside Najaf, Iraq. U.S. forces have stepped up efforts to capture al-Sadr supporters on the outskirts of Kufa and Najaf.
Intelligence reports suggested that al-Sadr's forces were using the area as a base for operations and three U.S. platoons set out early yesterday morning on a mission to sweep the area. They surrounded the groves and began encircling al-Sadr's militiamen.
"None of us have ever really actually fired a shot before," said Pvt. Jay Bradley, 20, of Alabama, as his unit set out on the patrol. "We're itching to do that."
After hearing the boom of mortars and learning of the wounded soldier at the traffic circle, Bradley said, "Today has been exciting enough already. I just want everyone to come home. That's more important than shooting."
For most of the afternoon, the mortars echoed and sent gray plumes of smoke into an already hazy sky. Militia fighters fell silent for nearly an hour before striking back with AK-47s and RPGs.
"I saw them launch the RPG and then five of them just scattered in all different directions," said Sgt. David Castillo, 24, one of the platoon members.
One soldier suffered shrapnel wounds to the face and hands; the other was hit in the leg.
Local residents fled their mud-brick homes to avoid being caught in the battle.
