Najaf battle sign of Iraq’s chaos and clash of loyalties

By Abdulhussein Gazal

Azzaman, January 31, 2007

Truth is perhaps the main victim of Iraqi atrocities which exacerbated following the U.S.-led invasion itself based on lies and allegations.

And as the dust settles over the battle of Najaf last Sunday, it emerges that the official story had no grain of truth.

Iraqi officials said 263 members of a little known group they identified as the Soldiers of Heaven were killed. They and U.S. officials who sent in helicopter gun ships and tanks to back Iraqi forces were pleased of their ‘victory’.

But who were those Soldiers from Heaven? And how could both Iraqi and U.S. officials persuade U.S. troops to market a story wholly based on lies?

The ‘victory’ was short-lived and its impact has already backfired and it could not have come at a worse time for the United States as it is on the verge of launching a new military offensive to retake Baghdad.

Now it appears that Iraqi troops had attacked a huge procession by Shiite tribesmen on their way to take part in the Ashura ceremonies.

The tribesmen were armed because their areas are among the most dangerous in Iraq. But the slogans they raised and the demands they made seem to have angered the government and prompted a violent response.

Tribal chieftains in Najaf, refusing to be named for security reasons, say the procession was organized by Shiite tribes who reject Iranian meddling in Iraqi affairs and oppose the Shiite factions loyal to Tehran.

Initially, the procession was made of members of al-Hawatma tribe. When they were attacked by Iraqi troops another powerful tribe, al-Khazaal, came to Hawatma’s defense.

When Iraqi troops felt they could not continue fighting on their own, they asked the Americans for aerial support, claiming that al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein loyalists were involved in the fighting.

The Soldiers of Heaven better known locally as Taifat al-Mahdiya or Mahdi group, who are mainly based in Basra, have flatly denied any involvement.
The group’s spokesman, Abdulimam Jabbar, said his members had nothing to do with the fighting in Najaf. “This is part of a propaganda campaign to discredit our group,” he said.

Jabbar, speaking in a mosque in Basra, said his group was “peaceful and does not believe at all in violence.”

According to the government 210 people were also injured in the fighting and 502 were taken prisoner.

The authorities have prevented reporters from talking to the injured or those captured.

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2007-01-31\kurd.htm

other information:
http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index980.htm