Whoa! Here we go again...this just in from an updated article here at Breitbart:
Now, I'm scratching my head a little on this one because this reeks of al Qaeda in Iraq. But, al Qaeda in Iraq really hasn't been too active in the areas of Najaf and Basra so this could take awhile to sort out. Al Qaeda in Iraq would be logical because they would be seeking to incite the Al Sadr militias to take revenge action against Sunnis - this is a smaller scale version of the Samarra mosque bombing of a few years ago.
At the same time, I suppose one could make the case that there is even some in-fighting at the Mahdi militias and this could have been a faction of that settling an old score. Either way, it will be interesting to see the reaction by al Sadr.
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi officials say gunmen have killed a senior aide to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf.
The officials say Riyadh al-Nouri was the director of al-Sadr's office in Najaf. He was shot to death as he drove home after attending Friday prayers in the nearby city of Kufa.
A policeman and an official in al-Sadr's Najaf office confirmed the killing but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information.
Now, I'm scratching my head a little on this one because this reeks of al Qaeda in Iraq. But, al Qaeda in Iraq really hasn't been too active in the areas of Najaf and Basra so this could take awhile to sort out. Al Qaeda in Iraq would be logical because they would be seeking to incite the Al Sadr militias to take revenge action against Sunnis - this is a smaller scale version of the Samarra mosque bombing of a few years ago.
At the same time, I suppose one could make the case that there is even some in-fighting at the Mahdi militias and this could have been a faction of that settling an old score. Either way, it will be interesting to see the reaction by al Sadr.
Gunmen Kill Sadrist Official in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi officials say gunmen have killed a senior aide to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf.
The officials say Riyadh al-Nouri was the director of al-Sadr's office in Najaf. He was shot to death as he drove home after attending Friday prayers in the nearby city of Kufa.
A policeman and an official in al-Sadr's Najaf office confirmed the killing but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information.
The anti-U.S. cleric has his headquarters in Najaf, but the shrines in that city are dominated by a rival Shiite group and most of his followers are concentrated in Kufa.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
BAGHDAD (AP)—Airstrikes in Baghdad and Basra killed 12 suspected insurgents, U.S. and British military officials said Friday, as Iraqi authorities lifted a two-week ban on vehicles in the capital's mainly Shiite Shula district.
The government lifted the ban in the northwestern Baghdad neighborhood that had been in effect there since fighting broke out between Iraqi troops and Shiite militia fighters last month.
A similar ban on vehicles in the sprawling Sadr City district is scheduled to be lifted Saturday. Iraqi troops supported by the U.S. military have been fighting to gain control of the district of 2.5 million people for nearly two weeks.
Sadr City is a principal stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
An unmanned drone fired on a group of gunmen carrying self-propelled grenades and mortars in Sadr City late Thursday, according to a military statement. Six were killed, the statement said.
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