Iraq Shi’ite militia begin disarming

BAGHDAD – Radical cleric Moqtada Sadr’s Shi’ite militia handed in a few weapons yesterday at the start of a deal with the Iraqi government to end months of violence, while insurgents killed two US soldiers in a Baghdad and attacked a US convoy in Mosul.

The two soldiers died in a rocket attack in the south of the Iraqi capital and five others were wounded, the military said. In the city of Mosul, some 370 kilometres north of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded near a US convoy.There was no immediate word of casualties from the blast, caused by a pickup truck which raced up to the convoy and exploded in the southern Yarmouk district, said First Lieutenant Jarella Mohammed Said.In Baghdad’s Shi’ite slum of Sadr City, representatives from Sadr’s Mehdi Army handed in arms on the first day of a test agreement that could clear the road for a lasting truce between the government and the rebellious preacher.Police, many of them Sadr supporters, told AFP they thought Mehdi Army soldiers mistrusted the Iraqi government and the US military and feared the other side might take advantage of the truce to crush their movement.The Sadr representatives handed in weapons at one of the three designated police stations serving as drop-off centres, cordoned off by police and Iraqi national guard.US army troops were also present at the sites.About a dozen machine guns, 12 mortar rounds, 38 mortar launchers and a sniper rifle were delivered to the al-Habibiya police station in the heart of the teeming district, where the Shi’ite militia has ruled by the gun.A police officer said the station was giving out receipts to Sadr representatives but had not yet received money to pay the militiamen.The deal has had lukewarm endorsements by the US military.US battalion commander for Sadr City, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Volesky, warned that his men reserved the right to carry out raids and arrests despite the five-day test period for Sadr’s men to relinquish heavy and medium weapons.”There has been no ceasefire agreement.The freedom of our movement has not been limited in any way.If we get the intel (intelligence) to support doing a search or raid on a target we have that flexibility to do it,” Volesky said.In a positive sign, young fighters on Sunday had defused roadside bombs planted to kill US soldiers in preparation for peace in the slum after six months of lethal combat.A deal with Sadr would shore up one flank for the US and Iraqi forces in the run-up to national polls planned for January, allowing them to concentrate on Fallujah, the epicentre of the Sunni Muslim insurgency, and other trouble spots around central Iraq.Iraqi national security advisor Kassem Daoud hailed the agreement on Sunday and said the government had more than 500 million dollars to rebuild Sadr City, with 150 million dollars coming directly from the Americans.Iraqi police and national guard will patrol Sadr City, and “the multinational force will intervene whenever is necessary,” Daoud said.After five days of the weapons buyback programme, Daoud said Iraqi forces would be free to conduct sweeps in Sadr City.However, the Mehdi Army has insisted searches were not included in the deal.- Nampa-AFPIn the city of Mosul, some 370 kilometres north of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded near a US convoy.There was no immediate word of casualties from the blast, caused by a pickup truck which raced up to the convoy and exploded in the southern Yarmouk district, said First Lieutenant Jarella Mohammed Said.In Baghdad’s Shi’ite slum of Sadr City, representatives from Sadr’s Mehdi Army handed in arms on the first day of a test agreement that could clear the road for a lasting truce between the government and the rebellious preacher.Police, many of them Sadr supporters, told AFP they thought Mehdi Army soldiers mistrusted the Iraqi government and the US military and feared the other side might take advantage of the truce to crush their movement.The Sadr representatives handed in weapons at one of the three designated police stations serving as drop-off centres, cordoned off by police and Iraqi national guard.US army troops were also present at the sites.About a dozen machine guns, 12 mortar rounds, 38 mortar launchers and a sniper rifle were delivered to the al-Habibiya police station in the heart of the teeming district, where the Shi’ite militia has ruled by the gun.A police officer said the station was giving out receipts to Sadr representatives but had not yet received money to pay the militiamen.The deal has had lukewarm endorsements by the US military.US battalion commander for Sadr City, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Volesky, warned that his men reserved the right to carry out raids and arrests despite the five-day test period for Sadr’s men to relinquish heavy and medium weapons.”There has been no ceasefire agreement.The freedom of our movement has not been limited in any way.If we get the intel (intelligence) to support doing a search or raid on a target we have that flexibility to do it,” Volesky said.In a positive sign, young fighters on Sunday had defused roadside bombs planted to kill US soldiers in preparation for peace in the slum after six months of lethal combat.A deal with Sadr would shore up one flank for the US and Iraqi forces in the run-up to national polls planned for January, allowing them to concentrate on Fallujah, the epicentre of the Sunni Muslim insurgency, and other trouble spots around central Iraq.Iraqi national security advisor Kassem Daoud hailed the agreement on Sunday and said the government had more than 500 million dollars to rebuild Sadr City, with 150 million dollars coming directly from the Americans.Iraqi police and national guard will patrol Sadr City, and “the multinational force will intervene whenever is necessary,” Daoud said.After five days of the weapons buyback programme, Daoud said Iraqi forces would be free to conduct sweeps in Sadr City.However, the Mehdi Army has insisted searches were not included in the deal.- Nampa-AFP