Civil War in Iraq Intensifies

U.S. and Iraqi Forces Clash With Shiite Militia, Killing at Least 17


By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: March 27, 2006

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 26 ?- American and Iraqi government forces clashed with Shiite militiamen in Baghdad tonight in the most serious confrontation in months, and Iraqi officials said the fighting left at least 17 Iraqis dead, including an 80-year-old imam.


The fighting erupted at a very combustible moment in Iraq, with sectarian tensions rising, leadership problems deepening, and dozens of mutilated bodies continuing to surface on Iraqi streets today.

Another concern is that the clash could open an old wound, because the militiamen who were killed worked for Moktada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric who has already led several bloody rebellions against American forces.

Security in Baghdad seems to be deteriorating by the hour, and it is increasingly unclear who is in control. Earlier today, the Iraqi Interior Ministry reported that American forces raided a secret prison and arrested several Iraqi policeman.

American officials have been more overt in the past week than ever in blaming Shiite militias, in particular Mr. Sadr's Mahdi Army, for a wave of sectarian bloodshed that seems to have no end. This morning, authorities in Baghdad discovered the corpses of 10 more men, all bound, blindfolded and shot.

As night fell, American and Iraqi Army forces surrounded a mosque in northeast Baghdad that is also used as a headquarters for Mr. Sadr's militia, Iraqi officials said. Helicopters buzzed overhead as a fleet of heavily armed Humvees sealed off the exits, witnesses said. When the soldiers tried to enter the mosque, shooting erupted, and a heavy caliber gun battle raged for the next hour.

The Interior Ministry said 17 people were killed, including the mosque's 80-year-old imam and other civilians.

Sheik Yousef al-Nasiri, an aide to Mr. Sadr, said that 25 people were killed and that American troops shot the mosque guards and then burst inside and killed civilians.

American military officials could not provide many details tonight about the operation. A short military news release said that Iraqi special forces, advised by American special forces, conducted a raid to "disrupt a terrorist cell" and that 16 insurgents were killed and 15 suspects captured.

The news release said "no mosques were entered or damaged during this operation."

Jonathan Withington, an Army spokesman, said he could not comment on any reports of civilian casualties, including the elderly imam.

Iraqi television showed footage of what appeared to be a prayer room filled with more than a dozen bodies. Several of them looked well beyond military age. Some of the men were shown with identification cards lying on their chests, jagged bullet holes cut through the plastic.

American officials are now saying that militias are the No. 1 security problem in Iraq, more dangerous than suicide bombs or guerilla attacks.

Earlier this evening, the bodies of 30 beheaded men were found on a main highway near Baquba, providing more evidence that the death squads in Iraq are operating out of control.

Interior Ministry officials said a driver discovered the bodies heaped in a pile next to a highway that links Baghdad to Baquba, a volatile city northeast of the capital that has been wracked by sectarian and insurgent violence.

Iraqi army troops were waiting earlier this evening for American support before venturing into the insurgent-infested area to retrieve them.

"It's too dangerous for us to go in there alone," an Iraqi Army commander, Tassin Tawfik, said.

The discovery of the 30 beheaded bodies, as well as the corpses of 10 other men found in Baghdad added to the hundreds of bodies that have recently surfaced on Baghdad's streets.

The widespread suspicion is that Shiite death squads are aiming at Sunni Arab civilians in a wave of sectarian revenge. The death squads are thought to be connected to Shiite militias and Shiite-controlled police forces. They seem to be the response to a bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of Shiite civilians and destroyed a number of Shiite mosques, most notably the revered golden-domed Askariya Shrine in Samarra last month.

That attack lifted the lid on simmering tensions between Shiites, who make up the majority in Iraq, and Sunni Arabs, who used to hold power under Saddam Hussein. Most of the big terror attacks, including suicide bombs, are thought to be the work of Sunni Arab insurgents. Now, it seems, Sunni Arab civilians are paying the price.

But it is not at all clear who killed the 30 men found beheaded this evening. The area where they were discovered is mostly Sunni Arab and controlled by Sunni insurgents. It would be very difficult for Shiite death squads to operate there. Interior Ministry officials said they did not have enough information tonight to identify the victims.

Elsewhere today, a Kurdish writer was sentenced to a year and a half in jail for criticizing Kurdish leaders. The writer, Kamal Karim, had published articles on a Kurdish Web site accusing one of the most powerful men in Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, of corruption.

Mr. Karim was originally sentenced to 30 years for defaming Mr. Barzani but he was retried. A judge said he was giving Mr. Karim a lenient sentence because he is an academic.

Also today, a mortar shell narrowly missed the home of Mr. Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric. Mr. Sadr immediately blamed American forces for the shelling.

"Either they overlook these attacks or they do it themselves," Mr. Sadr said in a statement.

The mortar wounded a child and a guard, but it did not harm Mr. Sadr.