Shi'ite militia hints of new attacks

BAGHDAD -- Followers of the militant Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took over state-run television yesterday to denounce the Iraqi government, label Sunnis "terrorists," and issue what appeared to many viewers as a call to arms.

The two-hour broadcast, from a community gathering in the heart of the Shi'ite militia stronghold of Sadr City, included three members of Sadr's parliamentary bloc, who took questions from angry residents demanding revenge for a series of car bombings that killed 200 people on Thursday.

With Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki relegated to the sidelines, Sunni-Shi'te attacks have continued unchecked despite a 24-hour curfew in Baghdad. Sadr's Mahdi Army militia now controls wide swaths of the capital, his politicians are the backbone of the Cabinet, and his followers are deeply entrenched in the Iraqi security forces.

Sectarian violence has spun so rapidly out of control since the Sadr City blasts, however, that it is not clear whether even Sadr has the authority -- or the will -- to stop the cycle of bloodshed.

"This is live and, God willing, everyone will hear me: We are not interested in sidewalks, water services, or anything else. We want safety," a Sadr City resident said as the televised crowd cheered. "We want the officials. They say there is no sectarian war. No, it is sectarian war, and that's the truth."

Militia leaders told supporters yesterday to prepare for a fresh wave of incursions into Sunni neighborhoods that would begin as soon as the curfew ends tomorrow, according to Sadr City residents. Several members of the Mahdi Army boasted they were distributing police uniforms throughout Shi'ite neighborhoods to allow greater freedom of movement. The government announced it would partially lift the curfew today to allow for pedestrian traffic.

In the Diyala Province north of Baghdad, Sunnis stormed into two Shi'ite homes, lined up 21 men, and shot them to death in front of women and children, police there said. Later in the day, a Shi'ite television station showed footage of the victims' burials.

And in the western province of Anbar, a suicide bombing at a checkpoint in Fallujah killed a US serviceman and three Iraqi civilians, according to a US military statement. Another American and nine Iraqis were injured.

Hareth al-Dhari, a top Sunni cleric, made an appeal in Cairo for Arab nations to withdraw recognition of Iraq's Shi'ite-led government. He also said that US-led troops were complicit in Iraq's sectarian crisis.

Dhari, leader of the militant Association of Muslim Scholars, declared Iraqi efforts toward a unity government "dead," and said the violence is political rather than theological.

"The occupying forces have been giving cover to the militias and criminal gangs," Dhari said.

"The government," he added, "has been seen setting the atmosphere for them with the curfews to aid them in catching the victims and carrying out their attacks."

The New York Times reported today that the insurgency has become self-sustaining, raising tens of millions from oil smuggling, kidnapping, counterfeiting, corrupt charities, and other crimes.

According to a classified US report, a copy of which was obtained by the Times, groups responsible for many of the attacks are raising an estimated $70 million to $200 million a year from illegal activities. Some $25 million to $100 million comes from oil smuggling and other criminal activity.

Material from Reuters was included in this report.