Shiite Militias

Iraq: 3,000 High-Risk Detainees

John Bruhns | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


John Bruhns

If these the 18,500 Iraqi detainees, when freed, return to terrorist activity, it will be the biggest road block to a stable democracy in Iraq -- if that's even possible.

Buying Time

John Bruhns | Posted 07.24.2008 | Politics


John Bruhns

The fragile success of the surge can be easily reversed. Now the issue is sustaining the current conditions long enough for us to start bringing our troops home.

Shiite Leader al-Sadr Seeks To Be Iraq Icon Like His Father

Washington Post | Amit R. Paley | Posted 06.04.2008 | Politics


When the revered head of Iraq's largest Shiite opposition group was assassinated in 1999, the mantle of leadership passed to an unexpected heir: Moqta...

Iraqi team seeks halt to suspected Iranian aid to militias

AP | QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | Posted 05.09.2008 | Politics


BAGHDAD — Iraqi envoys stepped up pressure on Iran during a mission Thursday that seeks to bolster claims that Tehran is arming and training Shi...

Al-Sadr Considers Restarting Full-Scale Fight Against US-Led Forces

AP | HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | Posted 05.02.2008 | Politics


BAGHDAD — Muqtada al-Sadr is considering setting aside his political ambitions and restarting a full-scale fight against U.S.-led forces _ a wor...

Al-Sadr's followers refuse to disband militia in Iraq

AP | ROBERT H. REID | Posted 04.28.2008 | Politics


BAGHDAD — Followers of hardline cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raised the stakes Sunday in the showdown with Iraq's government, refusing to disband thei...

Iraq Removes Top Military, Police Commanders After Botched Basra Crackdown

Reuters Via Washington Post | Aref Mohammed | Posted 04.24.2008 | Politics


Iraq's government removed the top military and police commanders in Basra on Wednesday, weeks after a botched crackdown on militia fighters there trig...

Iraq Army Unit Flees Post Despite US Soldiers' Pleas

New York Times | MICHAEL R. GORDON | Posted 04.23.2008 | Politics


A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions on Tuesday night in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line agai...

Basra Offensive Exposes Deepening Animosity Between Iraqi Shiites

Washington Post | Sudarsan Raghavan | Posted 04.15.2008 | Politics


As verses from the Koran floated from a loudspeaker, the Shiite militia commander's face glowered. Inside the cavernous funeral tent, a large portrait...

Fighting Erupts In Baghdad After Week Of Relative Calm

Reuters | Wisam Mohammed | Posted 04.14.2008 | Home


Twenty-two people were killed and 55 wounded in clashes in Baghdad, police said on Sunday, the worst eruption of violence in the capital since Shi'ite...

More Than 1,000 Iraqi Soldiers Quit During Basra Fight

New York Times | STEPHEN FARRELL and JAMES GLANZ | Posted 04.11.2008 | Politics


More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite mi...

Shiite Cleric al-Sadr Calls For Million-Strong March Against US In Iraq

Reuters | Peter Graff and Ahmed Rasheed | Posted 04.11.2008 | Politics


Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on Thursday for 1 million Iraqis to march against U.S. "occupation" next week after his Mehdi Army militia battl...

Shiite Fighting In Iraq Exposes Weakness Of Iraqi Security Forces

Washington Independent | Spencer Ackerman | Posted 04.10.2008 | Home


This week, the final U.S. Army brigade deployed to Baghdad as part of the troop surge returns to the United States. And that's only appropriate, as th...

Al-Sadr Stronghold Brims With Confidence

AP | QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | Posted 04.10.2008 | Home


BAGHDAD — Black banners announcing the deaths of Mahdi Army fighters plaster the streets. Scores of Shiite militiamen gather at the funeral of a...

AP: Iraqi Prime Minister Left Politically Battered And Humbled

AP | ROBERT H. REID | Posted 04.08.2008 | Home


BAGHDAD — Rockets fell on the Green Zone and random machine gun fire rang out Monday in the southern city of Basra as Shiite cleric Muqtada al-S...

Al-Sadr Pulls Fighters Off Streets

AP | KIM GAMEL | Posted 04.07.2008 | Politics


BAGHDAD — In a possible turning point in the recent upsurge in violence, Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Shiite militiamen off the streets Sunday bu...

Iraq Fighting Underscores Power Struggle

The Guardian | Sam Kiley | Posted 04.07.2008 | Home


For once, George Bush's open-faced incomprehension - at Nouri al-Maliki's decision to set off a civil war inside Iraq's Shia community - seems entirel...

Iraq Violence Continues As Death Toll Nears 300

CNN | Posted 04.07.2008 | Home


A strict curfew was extended indefinitely in the Iraqi capital Sunday as the death toll mounted from clashes between government troops and Shiite Musl...

Militiamen Holding Out in Basra Fighting

AP | KIM GAMEL | Posted 04.03.2008 | Home


BAGHDAD — Iraq's prime minister warned gunmen in the oil port of Basra to surrender their weapons by Friday or face harsher measures, as clashes...

US, Iraqi Troops Battle Shiite Militia

AP | ROBERT H. REID | Posted 04.02.2008 | Politics


BAGHDAD — Iraq's leaders faced their gravest challenge in months Tuesday as Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr batt...

Is "Success" Of Iraq Surge About To Unravel?

Huffington Post | Posted 04.02.2008 | Politics


A cease-fire with Muqtada al Sadr and his loyalists in the Mahd army is showing signs of deterioration. The agreement, which has been critical to the...

Turkish Warplanes Bomb Northern Iraq For 3rd Time This Week

AP | DIAA HADID | Posted 03.28.2008 | Politics


Turkey has the right to defend itself against Kurdish rebels based in Iraq but must make sure it does not destabilize its neighbor, the U.S. ambassado...