Sadr aide killed in Najaf raid, U.S. troops advising

"A top deputy of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was killed Wednesday during a raid by U.S. and Iraqi troops in the southern holy city of Najaf, sparking protests from Sadr's followers and complicating an already tense relationship with the powerful anti-American leader.
. . . A raid involving American forces in Najaf is particularly embarrassing for [Prime Minister Nouri al-]Maliki. Last week, in an elaborate ceremony, the U.S.-led coalition handed over control of Najaf to Iraqi forces.
. . . Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the top U.S military spokesman in Iraq, told reporters in Baghdad that the raid was led by 35 soldiers from the 8th Iraqi Army Division Forces, with eight U.S. troops serving as advisers.
. . . 'The purpose for going after him is because of the illegal activities that he was conducting, not because he was associated with any particular organization,' Caldwell said.
Amiri's friends and associates called him an honorable man. "He never participated in any kind of violence in all his life for as long as I've known him," said Nasar al-Rubaie, head of Sadr's parliamentary bloc."

source
The Washington Post. Close Adviser to Sadr Dies in U.S.-Iraqi Raid. December 28, 2006.

share
digg

posted: friday, december 29, 2006, 9:28 PM ET
update: friday, december 29, 2006, 9:36 PM ET

tags: iraq moktada al-sadr