Cleric vows strikes if US stays in Iraq

August 08, 2011|Associated Press

BAGHDAD - Moqtada al-Sadr, an anti-American Shi’ite cleric with thousands of followers in Iraq, said yesterday that US forces that stay past the Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline would be fair game to attack.

Iraqi officials, worried about a potential backlash if US troops remain in the country, have tried to portray any American forces that do not withdraw as trainers of the still-growing Iraqi military rather than as combat troops.

While the security situation in Iraq has improved during the past few years, attacks are still commonplace. In June alone, 15 US soldiers were killed, making it the bloodiest month for the US military in Iraq in two years. Nearly all of them were killed in attacks by Shi’ite militias bent on forcing out American troops on schedule.

Sadr’s comments suggested that even limited training would not be acceptable to his Shi’ite militia, which has stepped up rocket and bomb attacks against American forces as the December deadline approaches.

“They will be treated as anyone who stays in Iraq, as a tyrannical occupier that must be resisted by military means,’’ Sadr said on his website.

Violence has continued in Iraq despite the improved security situation. A woman and two children under 10-years-old were killed yesterday in a bomb attack in Iskandariyah, about 30 miles south of Baghdad. Four bombs were planted near homes in the town, officials said.