-Caveat Lector-
Begin forwarded message:
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: February 1, 2007 12:13:40 PM PST
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Battle with "Mahdi" Cult in Iraq NEVER HAPPENED-- Just
Psyops "News" Aimed at US Public
US 'VICTORY' AGAINST CULT LEADER WAS
[A FABRICATION, COVERING UP A] 'MASSACRE'
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad
The Independent (UK), 31 January 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2201103.ece
There are growing suspicions in Iraq that the official story of the
battle outside Najaf between a messianic Iraqi cult and the Iraqi
security forces supported by the US, in which 263 people were
killed and 210 wounded, is a fabrication. The heavy casualties may
be evidence of an unpremeditated massacre.
A picture is beginning to emerge of a clash between an Iraqi Shia
tribe on a pilgrimage to Najaf and an Iraqi army checkpoint that
led the US to intervene with devastating effect. The involvement of
Ahmed al-Hassani (also known as Abu Kamar), who believed himself to
be the coming Mahdi, or Messiah, appears to have been accidental.
The story emerging on independent Iraqi websites and in Arabic
newspapers is entirely different from the government's account of
the battle with the so-called "Soldiers of Heaven", planning a raid
on Najaf to kill Shia religious leaders.
The cult denied it was involved in the fighting, saying it was a
peaceful movement. The incident reportedly began when a procession
of 200 pilgrims was on its way, on foot, to celebrate Ashura in
Najaf. They came from the Hawatim tribe, which lives between Najaf
and Diwaniyah to the south, and arrived in the Zarga area, one mile
from Najaf at about 6am on Sunday. Heading the procession was the
chief of the tribe, Hajj Sa'ad Sa'ad Nayif al-Hatemi, and his wife
driving in their 1982 Super Toyota sedan because they could not
walk. When they reached an Iraqi army checkpoint it opened fire,
killing Mr Hatemi, his wife and his driver, Jabar Ridha al-Hatemi.
The tribe, fully armed because they were travelling at night, then
assaulted the checkpoint to avenge their fallen chief.
Members of another tribe called Khaza'il living in Zarga tried to
stop the fighting but they themselves came under fire. Meanwhile,
the soldiers and police at the checkpoint called up their
commanders saying they were under attack from al-Qai'da with
advanced weapons. Reinforcements poured into the area and
surrounded the Hawatim tribe in the nearby orchards. The tribesmen
tried - in vain - to get their attackers to cease fire.
American helicopters then arrived and dropped leaflets saying: "To
the terrorists, surrender before we bomb the area." The tribesmen
went on firing and a US helicopter was hit and crashed killing two
crewmen. The tribesmen say they do not know if they hit it or if it
was brought down by friendly fire. The US aircraft launched an
intense aerial bombardment in which 120 tribesmen and local
residents were killed by 4am on Monday.
The messianic group led by Ahmad al-Hassani, which was already at
odds with the Iraqi authorities in Najaf, was drawn into the
fighting because it was based in Zarga and its presence provided a
convenient excuse for what was in effect a massacre. The Hawatim
and Khaza'il tribes are opposed to the Supreme Council for Islamic
Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the Dawa Party, who both control
Najaf and make up the core of the Baghdad government.
This account cannot be substantiated and is drawn from the Healing
Iraq website and the authoritative Baghdad daily Azzaman. But it
would explain the disparity between the government casualties -
less than 25 by one account - and the great number of their
opponents killed and wounded. The Iraqi authorities have sealed the
site and are not letting reporters talk to the wounded.
Sectarian killings across Iraq also marred the celebration of the
Shia ritual of Ashura. A suicide bomber killed 23 worshippers and
wounded 57 others in a Shia mosque in Balad Ruz. Not far away in
Khanaqin, in Diyala, a bomb killed 13 people, including three
women, and wounded 29 others. In east Baghdad mortar bombs killed
17 people.
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