3 killed by IED; Sadr may end cease-fire

[unhappycamper]

3 killed by IED; Sadr may end cease-fire
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Feb 21, 2008 6:22:39 EST

BAGHDAD — Anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to lift a six-month cease-fire by the end of the week, a move that could send his Shiite militia fighters back out on the streets and jeopardize recent security gains that have led to a sharp decline in violence.

Meanwhile, three American troops were killed by a roadside bomb Tuesday night in Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

Sadr’s Shiite Mahdi Army is among the most powerful militias in Iraq, and the cease-fire he ordered last August has been credited with helping reduce violence around Iraq by 60 percent or more in the past half-year.

Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said that if the cleric failed to issue a statement by Saturday saying that the cease-fire was extended, “then that means the freeze is over.” In other words, al-Sadr’s followers would be free to resume attacks.

According to al-Obeidi, this “has been conveyed to all Mahdi Army members nationwide.”


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_iraqattacks_080220/

[acmavm]

1. al-Sadr is milking this situation for everything he can get. Attention, the

feeling of being a powerbroker, no doubt money, and a boost to his reputation as 'the' go-to-guy.