Iraqi, U.S. Forces strike at Sadr’s Militia

The new Iraqi government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken a step to fulfill the pledge to dismantle the militias, including Shiite run militias within his own governing coalition United Iraqi Alliance. An “Iraqi-planned, Iraqi-led and Iraqi-executed operation,” supported by U.S. forces in an “overwatch role” made a foray in Sadr City in northeastern Baghdad (Tharwa on the map.) Nine of Moqtada al-Sadr’s militiamen in his Madhi Army were killed, and thirty-one were wounded, according to the Iraqi Interior Ministry.

The target is believed to be Abu Duri (or Abu Deraa, Abu Diri), a leader of Sadr’s Madhi Army, who has been conducting vigilante-styled murders and kidnappings, as well as “involved in the transfer of weapons from Syria into Iraq.” Mohammad at Iraq the Model provides an anecdote about Abu Duri, some of which is believed to be the stuff of urban legend, just one day prior to the raid:

Abu Diri’ (whose first name is believed to be Salim) is a member of the Mehdi Army and gained the nickname which means ‘the armor bearer’ after he murdered an MNF soldier and seized his body armor during one the Sadrists battles against the MNF. Ever since that day he wears the body armor and never puts it away. People say this man commands hundreds (or thousands in some accounts) of “former” Mehdi army soldiers.

The story of Abu Diri’ describes him as the killer of Sunnis and suggests that his role is confined to doing a ‘Shia body count’ after each terror attack on Shia areas and then kidnapping and murdering an equal number of Sunnis. Of course the story has different versions and the ratio varies with the level of enthusiasm of the story teller; an objective teller would set the ratio at 1:1 but a sympathizer would raise it to the level of 10 Sunnis in return for each 1 Shia casualty.

The Coalition refuses to confirm Abu Duri’s capture, but Mohammad’s description neatly matches that of the target captured during yesterday’s raid. Coalition spokesman Major General Bill Caldwell described the person as follows: “He led multiple insurgent cells in Baghdad… His main focus is to conduct attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. These attacks have included using improvised explosive devices and vehicle(-borne) improvised explosive devices… His group has kidnapped, tortured and murdered Iraqi citizens, and he personally killed two Iraqi soldiers in an attempt to improve his organization’s status with his higher leadership… Iraqi intelligence linked the man to a punishment committee that carries out vigilante judgment on perceived enemies.”

This is not the first raid against Sadr’s militia this year. In late March ,Iraqi Special Forces, with Coalition units in support, struck at Sadr’s forces in the Ur Hayy district of Baghdad, which neighbors Sadr City. Twenty one of Sadr’s militiamen were killed during the raid, which was ordered by former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Other of Sadr’s associates have been marked for capture. While note identified as such, two of Sadr’s associates, Abu Mtafa al-Shaibani and Ahmed Abu Sajjad al-Gharawi, are on Iraq’s list of 41 most-wanted.

The dismantlement of the Shiite militias is a crucial component in bringing in the less recalcitrant Sunni insurgent groups to the negotiating table. The Iraqi government and Maliki in particular walk a fine line in alienating its own ruling coalition by taking too hard a line against Shiite militias (the largest of which is SCIRI’s Badr Brigade), who are seen as the protectors of the Shiites against the Sunni dominated terrorists groups. The government will need to continue to publicly dismantle the more violent elements of the Shiite militias to show the Sunnis they are serious.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags: Iraq