Update (1/29/07 12:53 Mountain): Reuters has published an update to this story.  It’s bad enough that the U.S. military has to deal with the Sunnis and the Shi’a separately over there.  But now it looks like they’re facing an unexpected complication with some sort of joint Sunni-Shi’a David Koresh/Branch Davidian type of B.S.  Hopefully most of those cult people are dead now….

The original post: 

There’s interesting news coming out of Iraq this morning.  Both the Associated Press and Reuters are reporting that Iraqi forces, backed by the U.S. military, have killed 300-350 militants in an intense battle in and around the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf.  According to Reuters:

Najaf governor Asaad Abu Gilel told Reuters the authorities had uncovered a plot to kill leading Shi’ite clerics in Najaf on Monday, to coincide with the climax of Ashura, the annual Shi’ite rite marking a 7th century battle which entrenched the schism between Shi’ite and Sunni Islam.
[…]
‘There is a conspiracy to kill the clergy on the 10th day of Muharram,’ he said, referring to Monday by the Muslim calendar.

The Associated Press adds this:

Attacks, meanwhile, struck Shi’ite targets in the Baghdad area as the Islamic sect marks Ashoura, the holiest day in the Shi’ite calendar commemorating the 7th century death of Imam Hussein. The celebration culminates Tuesday in huge public processions in Najaf, Karbala and other Shi’ite cities.
[…]
Mortar rounds rained down on a Shi’ite neighborhood in the Sunni-dominated town of Jurf al-Sakhar, 40 miles south of Baghdad, Monday morning, police spokesman Capt. Muthanna Khalid said. He said 10 were killed, including three children and four women, and five other people were wounded.

Initial reports indicate that both Sunni insurgents and Shi’a militants are among the dead.  Up to 1,000 fighters were involved.  Iraqi sources claim they were followers of Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni, an apocalyptic cult leader “claiming to be the vanguard of the Mahdi—a messiah-like figure in Islam whose coming heralds the start of perfect world justice” (Reuters)—who has attracted followers from both the Sunni and Shi’ite sects.  (Reuters notes that “the powerful Mehdi Army militia of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr shares the name, but not such ideas” as the al-Yemeni cult.) The sources said captured gunmen declared loyalty to Yemeni.

The operation began Sunday as an Iraqi initiative backed by U.S. armor and air support.  But by day’s end, the U.S. military had taken control (in what is fast becoming a disturbing pattern that doesn’t bode well for the Bush administration’s “let the Iraqis lead” strategy).  Three Iraqi soldiers were killed in the operation, and six were reported missing.  Five Iraqi policemen were also killed.  Two U.S. servicemen were killed in the action when their attack helicopter went down.  “Iraqi officials said the helicopter seemed to have been shot down,” says Reuters.  (This is the second U.S. helicopter to crash in Iraq this week, and the circumstances surrounding both losses are unclear.  12 U.S. servicemen were killed in a crash last Sunday in Tarkhya, south of the Diyala provincial capital of Baquba.  At present, it’s unclear whether these two aircraft were shot down by Iraqi insurgents in possession of anti-aircraft weapons.)

Reuters continues:

Details of the day’s fighting were sketchy and the origins of the fighters unclear. An Iraqi army source said some of the dead wore headbands declaring themselves a ‘Soldier of Heaven’.
[…]
The political source said up to 1,000 fighters had been involved. An Iraqi army source said they wore camouflage and appeared well organized.

It’s encouraging to hear that a combined Iraq-U.S. operation managed to corner and kill that many insurgents/militants.  The success of the operation is a reflection of good intelligence work on the ground and sound operational planning by both the Iraqi and American military leadership.

On the other hand, it’s discouraging to hear that Iraqi militant forces have the command capacity to organize and execute such a large operation (1,000 fighters).  Given the number of “hostiles” involved, it must have looked more like a “set piece” operation than a typical Iraqi insurgent “hit and run” type of affair.  Such “set piece” operations are exactly the type engagement our U.S. military doctrine is ideally suited for—the type of engagement we can easily win.

I don’t anticipate that the Iraqi enemy—whether Sunni or Shi’a—will be sticking their necks out by engaging in that type of operation very frequently.  Instead, I think we’ll see them shrinking back into the alleys and slums of Baghdad and Anbar to resume their hit and run style attacks on Iraqi and U.S. forces.

And more killing of coalition forces will ensue.

Read more on:

Bill’s Bites, and Hot Air.  Most notable, however, is Debbie at Right Truth as she posts about my ex-favorite gal Nancy “Love That Tuna” Pelosi.  At the very end of the post, Debbie changes topics and comments on the Najaf affair.  She makes an especially canny observation about the apparent change in ROE.  Go, girl!

For more information on this topic:

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