No sooner had the truce between the Mahdi Army and the US & Iraqi military been signed than it appeared to break down. Clashes broke out Monday night into Tuesday morning between the Mahdi Army militiamen and US troops, leaving 11 Iraqis dead and 20 wounded. The militia also targeted some government ministries with mortar fire.
Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that there is a disagreement between the United Iraqi Alliance (Shiite coalition) and the Sadr Movement over the exact content of the ceasefire proclamation. The UIA says that Sadr made an undertaking to dissolve the Mahdi Army, while his supporters say he pledged no such thing. Sadrist spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi said that individual militiamen were free to surrender their arms to the central government, but that the movement would not impose a duty to do so on its members.
Al-Zaman reports in Arabic that the population of Mosul feels betrayed because Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had given them an undertaking that he was only after foreign jihadis and would not arrest local Mosulis. In fact he has had 150 officers arrested.
The USG Open Source Center translates a report from Sharqiya t.v. that there is little potable water in Mosul.
From Media Matters: “A New York Times article detailed the connection between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, reporting that “the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform” media military analysts “into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks.” A Media Matters review found that since January 1, 2002, the analysts named in the Times article — many identified as having ties to the defense industry — collectively appeared or were quoted as experts more than 4,500 times on ABC, ABC News Now, CBS, CBS Radio Network, NBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, and NPR. . .”
I had been afraid that the Iraq conflict would drive Saudi Arabia and Iran into conflict with one another. But now you have to wonder if Lebanon might be more deadly in this regard. Saudi Arabia supports Saad al-Hariri and the Sunnis, while Iran supports Hizbullah.
McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq for Tuesday:
‘ Baghdad
Five civilians were wounded in a roadside bomb that targeted a patrol for the Iraqi army in al Wathiq intersection in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 8:00 a.m.
Medical sources in Sadr hospital in Sadr city said that a seven years old died after he was run over by a vehicle of the Iraqi army and 15 other men were wounded in a air strike targeted Jamila area in east Baghdad. US military says their was one air strike and some gun battles without any further details.
Medical source in Imam Ali hospital said that five men were killed and four others were wounded in an American air strike around 5:00 a.m. No confirmation reached us from the US military until time of publication
Around 5:00 p.m. three mortar shells hit the building of the ministry of interior affairs in Bab al Sharji neighborhood in downtown Baghdad. No casualties reported. At the same time, another three mortar shells hit the building of the ministry of justice in Salihiya in downtown Baghdad casuing afire that was controlled by firefighting units.
Police found four unidentified bodies throughout Baghdad (1 body in Jisr Diyala, 1 body in Tobchi, 1 body in Amil and 1 body in Sleikh)
Nineveh
Five Iraqi soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb that targeted their vehicle in Tal al Roman area in southwest Mosul city around 9:00 a.m.
Kirkuk
Ten civilians were injured in a car bomb near Mahabad primary school in one of the Kurdish neighborhoods in downtown Kirkuk city on Tuesday afternoon. The explosion caused damaged some shops and cars ‘
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