Mahdi Army Commander Confirmed Killed In U.S. Missile Strike In Baghdad's Sadr City

Great, great news! The U.S., a couple of weeks ago, lit up the skies of Sadr City with a guided missile strike against a command center for the Mahdi Army and in that attack, it is now confirmed that one of the dead is senior commander for the Mahdi Army, Arkan Hasnawi. And believe me, this guy was worth the effort. Take a look at some of the bad shit this dude had overseen in all of Iraq - this is from the great article over here at The Long War Journal:

Arkan Hasnawi was a brigade commander in Sadr's Mahdi Army. He fought against US and Iraqi forces in Najaf in 2003 and 2004 and has been linked to multiple attacks on US and Iraq security forces in Baghdad. He runs a network of Mahdi Army fighters in the Sha'ab neighborhood, just east of Sadr City. The US military and Iraqi security forces fought pitched battles against the Hasnawi network in February, and killed a senior lieutenant of Hasnawi and scores of fighters in the organization.
Hasnawi was behind the kidnapping of Shia and Sunni tribal leaders in Diyala province in October 2007. His network was also behind the kidnapping of six Sons of Iraq from a checkpoint in Baghdad’s Ur neighborhood on Feb. 7.

The part of this guided missile attack that killed way more than just Hasnawi was this: the Mahdi Army had purposely placed their command center in Sadr City RIGHT NEXT TO a Sadr City HOSPITAL. Apparently they were adopting the Hamas and Hezbollah technique of cowering in the shadows of civilians figuring they won't be attacked - this time they guessed wrong and the U.S. guided missile hit the mark and left the hospital untouched.

By the way, that command center was hit by the missile on May 3rd...wasn't it the day afterwards that the Mahdi Army decided to stand down on their attacks? Interesting how that works, isn't it?

How many times do I have to say it? These peons know only death - how to dish it out and the only thing that stops them is to kill them first. Good job guys on this kill. Outstanding.

US military killed Mahdi Army commander Arkan Hasnawi in May 3 strike

The US military killed a senior member of the Mahdi Army, according US and Mahdi Army sources. Arkan Hasnawi, a senior lieutenant of the Mahdi Army commander in Sadr City, was killed in a guided rocket strike in Sadr City on March 3. The news of Hasnawi's death comes as details emerge on the senior leadership of the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and the blurring of the lines between Sadr's militia and the Special Groups.
Hasnawi was among several senior Mahdi Army leaders killed or wounded in the GLMRS strike on a Mahdi Army command and control center that was placed next to the Sadr Hospital inside Sadr City, according to a report in The Washington Post. The command and control center, called "Tahseen's trailer" by US troops after Tahseen al Freiji, the senior Mahdi Army commander in Sadr City, was used to direct Mahdi Army operations during the fighting from late March to mid May.

Hasnawi was one of hundreds of Mahdi Army operatives killed in the fighting inside Sadr City from March 25 until the cease-fire with the Mahdi Army took place on May 10.
The US military estimates more than 700 Mahdi Army fighters were killed. "It is pretty safe to say that we have killed the equivalent of a U.S. battalion," Colonel John Hort, the commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division told The New York Times.
A Mahdi Army commander put the number closer to 1,000 killed over the past six weeks. "A thousand martyrs, what did they die for?" the commander said.
Number compiled by The Long War Journal showed 600 Mahdi Army fighters were killed in an around Sadr City since the fighting broke out on March 25.