Meltdown of the Mehdi Army

U.S. seizes Sadr aide as Gates visits Iraq
Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:15am ET


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi troops seized a prominent spokesman for Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Friday, confronting a movement that has a key role in the ruling coalition but is accused by Washington of running death squads.

The midnight raid near Baghdad's Sadr City district, which Sadr's aides angrily called an "American provocation", came as Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew in to the southern city of Basra to meet the commander in Iraq, General George Casey.

Dealing with Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia is a burning issue for U.S. forces and Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as they prepare what many see as a last-ditch effort to rein in sectarian violence that is pushing Iraq into civil war.

Gates said Iraq was at a "pivotal moment" and failure would be a "calamity" for U.S. interests.

Sadr, a young populist cleric with a mass following and some backing from Shi'ite Iran, is an ally of Maliki, who has been criticised by Washington and leaders of the once dominant Sunni Arab minority for failing so far to disarm the Mehdi Army.

Maliki, however, has said this month he will crack down on Shi'ite militias and said 400 Mehdi Army members had been arrested in mainly Shi'ite southern Iraq over recent days.

Friday's move appeared to be part of a campaign of targeted operations which senior Shi'ite politicians have told Reuters are being mounted against key figures in the Mehdi Army. It was not clear which was the main suspect among at least three people arrested, including Abdul-Hadi al-Darraji, a spokesman for Sadr. Continued...

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