2008 Iraq spring fighting: Difference between revisions

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|casualties1=186 killed;<br>2,100 deserted, defected or captured<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7336386.stm</ref><ref>http://www.subchat.com/otchat/read.asp?Id=305901</ref><br>(Iraqi security forces)<br>33 killed (U.S. forces)<ref>[http://www.icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=3-2008 Period Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=4-2008 Period Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=5-2008 Period Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><br>1 killed (Iraqi militia)<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-10-iraqnews_N.htm</ref><br>4 killed (Islamic Dawa Party)
|casualties1=186 killed;<br>2,100 deserted, defected or captured<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7336386.stm</ref><ref>http://www.subchat.com/otchat/read.asp?Id=305901</ref><br>(Iraqi security forces)<br>33 killed (U.S. forces)<ref>[http://www.icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=3-2008 Period Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=4-2008 Period Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.icasualties.org/oif/prdDetails.aspx?hndRef=5-2008 Period Details<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><br>1 killed (Iraqi militia)<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-10-iraqnews_N.htm</ref><br>4 killed (Islamic Dawa Party)
|casualties2=844 killed<br/>500+ captured
|casualties2=844 killed<br/>500+ captured
|casualties3=910 Iraqi civilians killed,<br />2 U.S. civilians killed
|casualties3=914 Iraqi civilians killed,<br />2 U.S. civilians killed
}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Iraq War}}
{{Campaignbox Iraq War}}

Revision as of 00:07, 2 May 2008

Iraq Spring Fighting of 2008
Part of the Post-invasion Iraq

Major flashpoints of the current fighting
DateMarch 23, 2008 –
Location
Iraq
Result

Ongoing

  • Mahdi Army propaganda victory in Basra
  • Maliki government politically weakened and agrees to immunity for Mahdi Army gunmen and a release of detained Mahdi Army members
Belligerents
Iraq Iraqi Army
 United States
Iraq Awakening Councils
Iraq Islamic Dawa Party		 Mahdi Army
Commanders and leaders
Iraq Nouri al-Maliki
United States David Petraeus		 Muqtada al-Sadr
Strength
400,000 60,000
Casualties and losses
186 killed;
2,100 deserted, defected or captured[1][2]
(Iraqi security forces)
33 killed (U.S. forces)[3][4][5]
1 killed (Iraqi militia)[6]
4 killed (Islamic Dawa Party)		 844 killed
500+ captured
914 Iraqi civilians killed,
2 U.S. civilians killed

The Iraq Spring Fighting of 2008 (March 23, 2008 – ) is a series of clashes between the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi Army supported by coalition forces, in southern Iraq and Baghdad, that began with an Iraqi offensive in Basra. The fighting followed a lull in the civil war in Iraq and was the most serious crisis since October 2007.

Background

In 2007, the Iraqi Army moved 4 brigades, including a tank brigade, and a special forces battalion to Basra, replacing the existing brigade stationed there which was reported to have been corrupt. [7] The Iraqi National Police also moved two battalions to Basra. In August 2007, the Iraqi Army established the Basra Operational Command under the command of General Mohan. The Vice Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Joint Staff said "We do not have enough forces there. That is why we are having a new division, the 14th Division, to be built in Basrah, especially with the possibility that the British might be leaving us in time."[8]

Since August 2007, a unilateral ceasefire was in place, imposed by Muqtada al-Sadr on his militia, the Mahdi Army. However raids were continuing on so-called "rogue" elements of the militia and tensions were building. In February, Sadr extended the ceasefire even though many of his commanders were against it. Despite the extension raids continued and members of the militia accused the members of the security forces of being infiltrated by their rival militia, the Badr Brigade.

The Campaign

On March 23, Iranian trained militants of the Mahdi Army fired mortars on the heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad killing one U.S. diplomat and wounding several other people. At least 12 Iraqi civilians were also killed by mortars that missed the Green Zone and hit the civilian sectors around the Zone.[9]

Basra operation

Main article: Battle of Basra (2008)

On March 25, the Iraqi Army and police attacked the second largest Iraqi city, Basra, which had for the most part been under Mahdi Army control for the past seven months since the British troop withdrawal from the city in the beginning of September the previous year. Since then the city was in the middle of a turf war between three different militias, including the Mahdi Army, for the control of the oil exports which had been dominated by the Black Market.

Street fighting spread through six neighbourhoods after the government operation started at 2:00am. Plumes of smoke were seen over the northern neighbourhoods, and by the end of the first day of fighting government forces took the center of the city but the Mahdi Army was still holding on to the northern part of the city.

On March 26, the Iraqi Prime Minister issued an ultimatum to the Mahdi Army to surrender within 72 hours.

File:Mahdi Army fighters take up positions during the street fighting in Basra.jpg
Mahdi Army fighters take up positions during the street fighting in Basra March 26, 2008.

On March 28, U.S. aircraft bombed two targets in the city while being supported by British planes, a day after militiamen paraded in the city with some 20 captured soldiers and a captured Iraqi Army Humvee. At least two Iraqi Army armoured vehicles and a BMP infantry fighting vehicle were seen destroyed on the streets.

By March 29, the Iraqi military offensive against the city was faltering in the face of stiff resistance as the 72-hour ultimatum by the government passed and the militants refused to surrender.

On March 31, the fighting in the city ended after al-Sadr's declaration of a new cease-fire. By that point the Mahdi Army was still in control of about 75% of the city.

Up to 236 people were killed and 1,200 wounded in the fighting in districts of central and northern Basra. 921 members of the security forces, including 421 policemen and a full Iraqi Army battalion of 500 men, deserted, defected or were captured.

Clashes between militiamen and al-Maliki's tribe in Qurna, north of Basra, left 7 dead, including a policeman and a civilian, and 2 wounded on both sides.[10] [11] [12]

Mortars also killed two policemen and wounded 23 people, including 13 policemen, in Karma, a town 50 miles north of Basra.[13]

Following the cease-fire in Basra there were still sporadic clashes in the city for some time leaving at least 32 civilians, 34 militants, five policemen and one U.S. Marine dead. Among the dead was also police Major Ali Haider, a commander in the police department's serious crimes directorate.[14][15][16][17]

Post-operation Basra fighting

Fighting in Sadr City and Baghdad

The clashes, soon after the start of the security operation, spread from Basra to Baghdad, mainly the Sadr City district of the capital, which was under the control of the Mahdi Army.

File:Smoke rises from the Green Zone after a mortar strike March 25, 2008.jpg
Smoke rises from the Green Zone after a mortar strike March 25, 2008.

March 25: Militants attacked police and army checkpoints in the western and northern parts of Baghdad and the Green Zone was constantly coming under mortar and rocket attacks leaving dozens of people wounded and many Iraqi civilians killed by rockets that missed their targets. On the first day of fighting in Baghdad one U.S. soldier was among the dead, killed by a mortar in the Adhamiya district of Baghdad. The mortar was fired from the vicinity of Sadr City. In Baghdad's al-Amin neighborhood, Mahdi Army gunmen stormed two offices of the Dawa party and clashed with guards there. Five Mahdi Army gunmen and two Dawa guards were killed. Fighters also captured six policemen with their two police vehicles from their checkpoint in New Baghdad.[18]

March 26: Mortar strikes killed five people in the Karrada neighborhood and four in Risala on March 26. Another two people were killed in mortar attacks elsewhere. More rockets and mortars hit the Green Zone wounding four people. Among the wounded were two American civilians and one American and one Iraqi soldier.

In Sadr City militants were planting roadside bombs on a main thoroughfare and declared the ceasefire over. Mahdi Army fighters sealed off their neighborhoods, blocking roads with refrigerators, burning tires and garbage. Heavy clashes erupted between militiamen and U.S. and Iraqi forces. A roadside bomb set a U.S. Humvee on fire in Sadr City but all soldiers inside survived. Also in fighting in northern and eastern parts of Baghdad two US soldiers and three Iraqi civilians were killed.[19][20]

March 27: On March 27, a mortar bomb at a Baghdad bus station killed three people and wounded 15 and 2 mortar rounds hit the Ministry of Interior, al-Tasfeerat compound in central Baghdad killing one employee and injuring four. The Green Zone was still being bombarded with one Iraqi civilian killed and another 14 wounded by misfired mortars. Several mortar rounds hit a building in the U.S. embassy complex in the Zone leaving one U.S. government employee dead and another three wounded. Also, a U.S. soldier died in the fighting during the day.

Street battles in Sadr City and other parts of the capital in the previous 24 hours left 88 people dead, including 68 militants, three U.S. and one Iraqi soldier, one Iraqi policeman and at least 15 civilians who were killed when an artillery barrage hit a market in Sadr City. At least 12 U.S. soldiers were wounded and three policemen captured.[21][22][23][24][25][26]

Tahseen Sheikhly, a Sunni civilian spokesman for operation Imposing Law, was kidnapped by gunmen who stormed his house in a Mahdi Army stronghold in southeastern Baghdad and torched it. Three of his bodyguards were killed.

The Times reported areas of Baghdad were slowly falling into the hands of the Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army took over neighbourhood after neighbourhood, some amid heavy fighting, others without firing a shot. In New Baghdad, militiamen simply ordered the police to leave their checkpoints, the officers complied en masse and the guerrillas took over their checkpoints.[27] The US Army denied this. Lieutenant Colonel Steve Stover, the Public Affairs Officer for the 4th Infantry Division and Multinational Division Baghdad said "All checkpoints and ISF [Iraqi security forces] buildings are in ISF and/or Coalition control. No checkpoint is in enemy control."[28]

In other fighting during the day a father and son were killed in the Talbiyah neighbourhood where at least eight Iraqi soldiers were wounded in street battles.[29]

March 28: Early on March 28, a U.S. helicopter fired a Hellfire missile during fighting in Sadr City in support of ground troops who were clearing a main supply route. Four militants and nine civilians were killed. Meanwhile an insurgent mortar hit Iraqi Vice-President Tareq Hashemi's offices in the Green Zone, killing two guards, and a U.S. air strike killed three people and wounded six in Kadhimiya. In other fighting throughout the capital 13 militants and two civilians were killed and four U.S. Stryker armored vehicles entered Sadr City and engaged militiamen. A U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb just south of Baghdad.[30][31][32]

Ten of the militants were killed by US forces when a joint security station in eastern Baghdad was attacked with small arms fire. In a separate incident, a US air strike destroyed a rocket site in eastern Baghdad.[33] One U.S. soldier was killed the fighting.

Late in the evening reports came in that a unit of 500 policemen decided to stop working with the government and join the Mahdi Army.[34]

March 29: In another day of mortar bombardment mortars landed in Shiite areas of eastern Baghdad, killing at least one person and injuring 12. The New York Times reported that in a well-publicized event in Sadr City, 40 men who said they were Iraqi police officers surrendered their weapons to Sadr officials saying "We can't fight our brothers in the Mahdi Army, so we came here to submit our weapons." In return, the Sadr officials gave the officers olive branches and Korans. The weapons were returned after the officers pledged not to use them against Mahdi Army members. “These weapons are for defending the country but not for fighting your brothers,” said Sheik Salman al-Fraji, head of the Sadr office there. [35] Video coverage of event Another 15 soldiers also surrendered elsewhere in the city.

By this point the Iraqi Health Ministry reported at least 75 civilians killed and 500 injured in fighting in Sadr City and other eastern eastern Baghdad neighborhoods. The U.S. military sharply disputes the claims, having said that most of those killed were militia members. Two U.S. soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad and one Iraqi policeman was killed in the Amil district by another bomb. A militia member was killed when his RPG misfired.

U.S. forces stated that they killed a total of 48 militants in Baghdad in the previous 24 hours, while three US Soldiers were killed in the fighting that day. [2]

March 30: U.S. forces killed at least 62 fighters in fighting across Baghdad. Another mortar strike, aimed at the Green Zone, killed at least seven Iraqis and wounded 21 when two rounds apparently fell short, striking houses in the commercial district of Karradah. Gunmen also attacked an Iraqi checkpoint in eastern Baghdad, killing six troops. An American soldier was killed by a roadside bomb just north of the city.[36][37][38][39]

March 31: Mortars fell again on the Green Zone, however there were only sporadic sounds of gunfire in the city, a day after al-Sadr declared a new ceasefire. One U.S. soldier was killed on the outskirts of Sadr City by a roadside bomb. Just before the fighting stoped eight civilians were killed in Sadr City due to American shelling.[40]

April 1-5: During this time a cease-fire was in effect in Baghdad which eased the violence in the capitol. However this will not last.

April 6-May 1: A U.S. military raid in Sadr City provokes heavy street fighting in the district and most of eastern Baghdad which leads to the collapse of the cease-fire in the district. Two Iraqi Army armored vehicles and two trucks are destroyed and one U.S. Stryker armored personnel carrier is damaged on the first day of the street battles. U.S. Apache helicopter gunships swooped overhead during the battle. Militants shelled the Green Zone and other U.S. military bases around the capital. Unmanned Predator aircraft fired Hellfire missiles into Sadr City every day targeting the mortar and rocket teams. At least 729 people were killed. Among the dead are 21 U.S. and 17 Iraqi soldiers as well as 232 militants and 479 civilians. 100 U.S. soldiers and more than 1,700 civilians were wounded. 447 of the civilians were killed in Sadr City[41] while another 32 were killed in different parts of Baghdad by mortars, fired from Sadr City, which missed the Green Zone. The fighting mostly stoped early on April 11, as U.S. and Iraqi forces managed to advance down the main road through Sadr City and set up a forward defence line inside the district. However, that night fighting continued as U.S. and Iraqi units were attacked with small-arms, machine guns and RPG's. Snipers and road-side bombs were also used against Coalition forces.[42][43]

On April 17, a heavy dust storm engulfed Baghdad and the militiamen used this to their advantage. Gunmen attacked the coalition frontlines under the cover of the storm and heavy fighting ensued. At one point an Iraqi company deserted their position at a police station and the militiamen moved in but U.S. forces moved in soon to fill in the gap in the line. Fighting continued throughout the night and new attacks were staged the next day as the storm continued and U.S. forces were not able to send in helicopters, planes or drones to assist. This day another company of Iraqi soldiers deserted their post after almost being overrun by militants. The fighting finally died down in the evening as the sand storm lifted. In the fighting on April 17th and 18th, 17 Iraqi soldiers and 22 militiamen were killed along with a number of civilians.

On April 28, another dust storm swept through Baghdad and the Mahdi Army once again attacked the blockades around Sadr City. In the ensuing fighting four U.S. soldiers, 45 militants and eight civilians were killed.[44]

On April 29, U.S. forces in Stryker vehicles tried to push deeper into Sadr City but were met with stiff resistance from fighters using machine-guns and RPG's. After heavy fighting the troops withdrew to their start positions. 28 militants were killed, 6 U.S. soldiers were wounded, several U.S. military vehicles were damaged and three buildings used by militants were destroyed by American bombing during the battle.

During the latest round of fighting five Iraqi and two U.S. soldiers, five policemen, one U.S.-allied militiaman, 55 militiamen and 16 civilians were killed in clashes between the Mahdi Army and security forces in other parts of the capital.[45]

143 dumped bodies were found during the fighting throughout Baghdad since March 23, all apparent victims of sectarian violence.[46]

Al Kut fighting

In the city of Al Kut, the capital of Wasit Governorate, militants went out in the streets in force on March 25, and took control of 5 out of 18 districts of the city.

Heavy street fighting took place on March 26, and mortar impacts resounded leaving buildings and cars aflame. Another three districts fell into the hands of the militants for a total of eight. 35 people were reported killed, including a baby. 15 of those were killed when a mortar barrage struck homes amid the clashes.[47]The security forces stated that six Iraqi soldiers and policemen died while 11 militants were killed in a combined US Special Forces-Iraqi SWAT patrol.[48][49]

Also at least two policemen and one civilian were killed and another eight or ten policemen were wounded in fighting in the town of Aziziya just north of Al Kut.[50]

49 people were killed and 75 wounded in Al Kut by March 27.

Another four policemen and two civilians were killed in the next two days.[31][51]

400 policemen deserted or defected during the fighting in Al Kut.[52]

On April 26, a raid was conducted in the city in which one Iraqi soldier was killed.

Hilla clashes

Fighting was also happening in Hilla, the capital of Babil province, where two people were killed on March 25.

On March 26, U.S. forces conducted air strikes in support of Hillah's Iraqi SWAT unit during fighting with Shi'ite militia in the Thawra neighbourhood. Iraqi police sources estimate the casualties at between 11 and 29 people dead and 18 and 39 wounded. At least 19 of the dead were confirmed to be militiamen.[53]. 9 Iraqi SWAT members were killed and two wounded during the battle.[54]

The next day heavy street battles continued in Hilla, most of them in the city center, with at least one soldier and five policemen killed and another 26 members of the security forces being wounded. The offices of the al-Da'wa Party and the Supreme Council were destroyed by militants.[55]

The toll in two days of fighting in Hilla was at least 60 dead.[21]

On March 29, a police source in Babil province reported that since the fighting began on March 25, 85 militiamen have been captured in the province. He also said a large number of gunmen had been killed.[56]

On April 3, U.S. soldiers, in civilian clothes, clashed with Mahdi Army fighters during an attempted raid to arrest rogue elements in the Mehdi Army. Later Iraqi police joined the fight and five people, including four policemen were killed.[57]

On April 4, a roadside bomb killed four policemen and injured one other.

On April 5, the body of a police commando was found in the city, he was shot dead. Police killed one gunman and arrested two others when they tried to assassinate a local police chief in the town of Hamza al-Gharbi, south of Hilla.

On April 25, a man was shot dead in the city. Six people were arrested in connection to the killing.

Other clashes

In response to the fighting the political movement of powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign across Iraq to protest the raids and detentions against the Mahdi Army.[58]

Diwaniyah: On March 26, seven Iraqi soldiers, a policeman and two militants were killed and another seven militants were captured and seven policemen wounded. On March 27, one gunman was killed and a policeman was wounded in a security operation that netted eight suspects. The next day militia fighters killed the top administrator in a village near Diwaniyah.[59][48]

On March 29, 200 local residents held a demonstration in support of the Iraqi operations in Basrah.[60]

On April 27, gunmen killed a police officer outside his home.

Najaf: Four mortars landed in different parts of Najaf on March 26, and sporadic fighting throughout the city left two policemen wounded. A few days later a roadside bomb killed one army officer and wounded two soldiers when it struck their vehicle in northern Najaf.[61]

On April 11, gunmen killed a senior aide to Muqtada al-Sadr, Riyadh al-Nouri. He was the director of al-Sadr's office in Najaf.

On April 21, an al-Sistani aide was killed in the city.

Amarah: In Amara, capital of Maysan Governorate, two soldiers were killed by unknown gunmen. Two civilians died in clashes on the Yugoslav Bridge in northern Amara. Gunmen attacked the Badr Organization Bureau located in Hitteen Square, in the centre of Amara, using RPGs.[62][21]

Nasiriyah: Two Iraqi soldiers were killed near Nasiriyah as they were heading to reinforce the attack on Basra. On 28 March 2008, Sadrist forces had taken control of the center of Nasiriyah. In heavy street fighting 5 policemen, 10 militants and 20 civilians were killed. Another 52 people were wounded, including 19 policemen, 26 civilians and 7 gunmen. Another 13 militants were captured. The Mahdi Army had also taken control of the town of Shatra, 40 kilometers north of Nasiriyah.[63] [64]

On March 29, the city was back under the control of Iraqi security forces, according to a provincial police spokesman.[65]

On April 19, a large firefight broke out in the village of Suq al-Shiyoukh, near Nasiriyah, which left 40 militiamen, 4 policemen and one civilian dead, another 37 militiamen were captured and 19 policemen were wounded.

Mahmoudiya: At least 12 militia fighters were killed and seven others wounded in fighting in Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of the capital. Some 15 Iraqi soldiers were reported to be captured. Four civilians were killed in the crossfire.

Karbala: In fighting in the holy city of Kerbala on March 28, 21 militants and 2 policemen were killed.[31][66][67] On Friday night, Iraqi forces launched a major operation targeting Mahdi Army networks in Karbala. 12 militiamen were killed and 50 wounded. 30 gunmen surrendered to police on Thursday to benefit from the Iraqi prime minister's pardon. On Saturday an Egyptian in command of fighters in Karbala surrendered to police, along with 6 members of his group.[68]

Hamza: Clashes with the Mahdi Army on March 27, left three policemen dead in Hamza. Another officer was wounded along with two Iraqi soldiers.[69] The next day another six policemen were killed. On March 30, police forces supported by aircraft launched a large-scale attack killing four gunmen and arresting 30.[70][71]

Suwayrah: In clashes Iraqi Army scouts and U.S. Special Forces soldiers killed 13 militants and destroyed two cargo trucks. Another three were killed the next day.[72][73]

Nation-wide: A roadside bomb in al-Kafl, which is just south of Hilla, left three policemen dead and another four wounded.[69] A roadside bomb killed four policemen and wounded four more in Mahaweel, south of Baghdad.[74] An Army Colonel was killed in clashes with Mehdi Army fighters in Numaniya, 72 miles south of Baghdad.[75] Militiamen attacked the village of Al Daoum, south-east of Karbala, killing five people, kidnapping six others and destroying four houses in retaliation against the families of Iraqi soldiers.[76] In another attack on a village near Karbala five people were killed and two were wounded, around 150 people were forced to flee and fourteen homes were destroyed.[77] On April 21, the Iraqi Army reported to have killed 30 militants over the course of the previous 24 hours, in one of those clashes south of Baghdad six police officers were killed also.[78] In the town of Hussaniyah, north of Baghdad, on April 22, an Iraqi Army patrol, accompanied by U.S. Special Forces members, was attacked by militiamen, and in the ensuing firefight nine militiamen were killed.[79]

Aftermath

Following the first cease-fire at the end of March, the campaign had reached a stalemate between the two sides. However, by all accounts the Iraqi Army performed poorly during the clashes. Somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 members of the Iraqi security forces deserted, defected or surrendered during the fighting.[80] Basra and Sadr City remained largely under the control of the Mahdi Army.

Following the fighting the Maliki government allegedly agreed to political concessions for a cease-fire, including legal and military immunity for the Mahdi Army and a release of its captured members, although Maliki denies any concessions were made[81]. Many analysts said the Mahdi Army had scored a major political victory, which also presented the fighting capabilities of the militia that were, despite a lack of heavier weapons, far greater than those of the Iraqi security forces[citation needed]. However, this is apparently been objected to by the Maliki Government, since it has continued its operations against Mahdi Army strongholds in Sadr City and Basrah.

The Mahdi Army has stated that it will only disarm if the Shiite Clergy agree with Maliki's aims.

In light of the battle with the Mahdi army, there has been consensus from Kurdish, Sunni and the Shia political parties not aligned with Sadrists to support Prime Minister Maliki's efforts to impose Government authority in the south, even showing support to revoking the right of any political party to be represented in the October provincial elections if they continue to operate militias outside of Iraqi law. [82][83][84][85]

By late April the fighting was centered mostly on Sadr City in Baghdad and Basra was reportedly under government control.

See also

References

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  64. ^ 30 killed, 52 wounded in Nassiriya until Friday night - Aswat Aliraq
  65. ^ 30 killed, 52 wounded in Nassiriya until Friday night - Aswat Aliraq
  66. ^ toll rises in Baghdad fighting, March 29 - Reuters
  67. ^ http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=74672&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1
  68. ^ Egyptian leader of armed group surrenders in Karbala - Aswat Aliraq
  69. ^ a b Thursday: 225 Iraqis, 1 US Soldier, 3 US Contractors Killed; 538 Iraqis Wounded - Antiwar.com
  70. ^ http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12599
  71. ^ http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=74725&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1
  72. ^ http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17918&Itemid=21
  73. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/30/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq.php
  74. ^ FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, March 27 - Reuters
  75. ^ http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ANW848978.htm
  76. ^ http://www.mcclatchydc.com/212/story/33729.html
  77. ^ http://antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12714
  78. ^ http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=136593
  79. ^ http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18730&Itemid=128
  80. ^ More Than 1,000 in Iraq’s Forces Quit Basra Fight, April 4 | The New York Times
  81. ^ Transcript: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Iraq, CNN, April 7, 2008
  82. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89231774&ft=1&f=1001
  83. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSCOL144127._CH_.2400
  84. ^ http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/32187.html
  85. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article3701511.ece

External links

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