Rough edges of militia can't hide its skill
AL-SADR:
Rough edges of militia can't hide its skill
By EDMUND SANDERS
Los Angeles Times
NAJAF, Iraq - They're a ragtag team of about 1,000 young, impoverished men who sometimes shoot one another by accident or stick machine guns out windows and spray the area without looking.
Yet they've also set up clever ambushes, demonstrated surprising resilience and executed defensive maneuvers that have impressed the U.S. military.
After a week of butting heads with Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, U.S. military authorities tasked with capturing or killing the Shiite cleric call his militia a mix of sophistication and amateur hour.
"They are prepared. They are bold. And they are willing to fight," said Maj. Rick Heyward, 38, of the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, which has clashed with the militia twice in the past week. "But they're undisciplined and don't have our training."
The vast majority of al-Sadr's militiamen are young and unemployed and are inspired by al-Sadr's anti-American rhetoric and calls to end the occupation of Iraq.
"They're mostly thugs," said Col. Dana Pittard, commander of the newly created task force in Najaf. "A lot are young kids in it just for the thrill."
Soldiers who have faced the militia in street battles say members frequently lose control of their weapons or fail to aim carefully.
"We call it spray and pray," said Capt. Sean Stinchon, 29, of the 1-14 Infantry. "They don't even use the scopes."
Stinchon and other officers, awaiting the resolution of negotiations over the U.S. standoff with the cleric, got a first-hand look at his militia's questionable marksmanship last week when their six-vehicle convoy was forced by rocket-propelled grenade fire to cross a bridge over the Euphrates River and race down a busy commercial street in Kufa.
As the U.S. forces sped the wrong way down a street at 50 mph, about 50 al-Sadr followers fired machine guns and AK-47s. But none of the soldiers was hit.
"We should have been dead," Heyward said.
Because the attackers positioned themselves across the street from each other, some appear to have shot one another as well as hitting innocent bystanders, according to U.S. soldiers.
At the same time, al-Sadr has assembled an inner-core of experienced security professionals who consider themselves holy fighters. Some were groomed at a special al-Sadr training camp, military officials said.
This group, believed to number about 100, provides al-Sadr's personal protection and helps plan strategies, according to military intelligence reports.
They move the cleric frequently between different locations in Najaf and Kufa. They've positioned themselves in the mosques, which they know the United States is loathe to attack. They've buried weapons in the cemetery and drive in stolen police cars, according to military officials.
Although al-Sadr publicly has claimed to be pulling back from his positions inside the cities, military officials have observed his militia tightening its hold, setting up fighting positions in key buildings in preparation for a U.S. invasion. .
On Friday, U.S. officials left a five-hour battle with more respect for the militia members, who after nearly four hours of heavy bombing continued to hold their position inside a palm grove next to Kufa.
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Unlike insurgents who attack from afar with mortars or improvised explosive devices, al-Sadr's forces maintained their grip on a building inside the grove, using a water tower as a lookout post to help launch counterattacks.
"This was not just an ambush," said Maj. Mike Davies, 40. "It was a defense. They got into prepared fighting positions."
"Iraq faces a choice," Bremer said during an address televised throughout the country. "If you do not defend your beloved country, it will not be saved." (Pasted by me here)
After several hours of fighting, the militiamen fell silent, luring U.S. soldiers into a false sense of security. Then the al-Sadr followers struck suddenly with an RPG, wounding two soldiers.
When U.S. forces finally captured the building housing al-Sadr's forces, they climbed on the roof and were shocked to see scores of reinforcements climbing into boats and crossing the bridge to continue the battle. The U.S. forces decided to withdraw.
"These guys are different from the enemy we've seen in other parts of Iraq," said Capt. Chris Budihas, who fought against the militia in the ambushed convoy earlier in the week.
He also said the militiamen appear to be learning from their mistakes. When military vehicles escaped the ambush on Tuesday, al-Sadr's followers repositioned themselves so they could fire from the rear. On Friday, their ambush lit a tank on fire and a U.S. soldier was wounded in the head.
"They're getting smarter," Budihas said.
At the same time, they continue to make rookie mistakes.
Three al-Sadr followers were captured near a military checkpoint Friday when their car got stuck in the sand.
Inside the shirt pocket of one man was a document claiming he was a French journalist. But he was also carrying an invoice for weapons for the Mahdi Army, diagrams for making homemade bombs and a picture of al-Sadr in his wallet.
Rough edges of militia can't hide its skill
By EDMUND SANDERS
Los Angeles Times
NAJAF, Iraq - They're a ragtag team of about 1,000 young, impoverished men who sometimes shoot one another by accident or stick machine guns out windows and spray the area without looking.
Yet they've also set up clever ambushes, demonstrated surprising resilience and executed defensive maneuvers that have impressed the U.S. military.
After a week of butting heads with Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, U.S. military authorities tasked with capturing or killing the Shiite cleric call his militia a mix of sophistication and amateur hour.
"They are prepared. They are bold. And they are willing to fight," said Maj. Rick Heyward, 38, of the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, which has clashed with the militia twice in the past week. "But they're undisciplined and don't have our training."
The vast majority of al-Sadr's militiamen are young and unemployed and are inspired by al-Sadr's anti-American rhetoric and calls to end the occupation of Iraq.
"They're mostly thugs," said Col. Dana Pittard, commander of the newly created task force in Najaf. "A lot are young kids in it just for the thrill."
Soldiers who have faced the militia in street battles say members frequently lose control of their weapons or fail to aim carefully.
"We call it spray and pray," said Capt. Sean Stinchon, 29, of the 1-14 Infantry. "They don't even use the scopes."
Stinchon and other officers, awaiting the resolution of negotiations over the U.S. standoff with the cleric, got a first-hand look at his militia's questionable marksmanship last week when their six-vehicle convoy was forced by rocket-propelled grenade fire to cross a bridge over the Euphrates River and race down a busy commercial street in Kufa.
As the U.S. forces sped the wrong way down a street at 50 mph, about 50 al-Sadr followers fired machine guns and AK-47s. But none of the soldiers was hit.
"We should have been dead," Heyward said.
Because the attackers positioned themselves across the street from each other, some appear to have shot one another as well as hitting innocent bystanders, according to U.S. soldiers.
At the same time, al-Sadr has assembled an inner-core of experienced security professionals who consider themselves holy fighters. Some were groomed at a special al-Sadr training camp, military officials said.
This group, believed to number about 100, provides al-Sadr's personal protection and helps plan strategies, according to military intelligence reports.
They move the cleric frequently between different locations in Najaf and Kufa. They've positioned themselves in the mosques, which they know the United States is loathe to attack. They've buried weapons in the cemetery and drive in stolen police cars, according to military officials.
Although al-Sadr publicly has claimed to be pulling back from his positions inside the cities, military officials have observed his militia tightening its hold, setting up fighting positions in key buildings in preparation for a U.S. invasion. .
On Friday, U.S. officials left a five-hour battle with more respect for the militia members, who after nearly four hours of heavy bombing continued to hold their position inside a palm grove next to Kufa.
(Begin optional trim)
Unlike insurgents who attack from afar with mortars or improvised explosive devices, al-Sadr's forces maintained their grip on a building inside the grove, using a water tower as a lookout post to help launch counterattacks.
"This was not just an ambush," said Maj. Mike Davies, 40. "It was a defense. They got into prepared fighting positions."
"Iraq faces a choice," Bremer said during an address televised throughout the country. "If you do not defend your beloved country, it will not be saved." (Pasted by me here)
After several hours of fighting, the militiamen fell silent, luring U.S. soldiers into a false sense of security. Then the al-Sadr followers struck suddenly with an RPG, wounding two soldiers.
When U.S. forces finally captured the building housing al-Sadr's forces, they climbed on the roof and were shocked to see scores of reinforcements climbing into boats and crossing the bridge to continue the battle. The U.S. forces decided to withdraw.
"These guys are different from the enemy we've seen in other parts of Iraq," said Capt. Chris Budihas, who fought against the militia in the ambushed convoy earlier in the week.
He also said the militiamen appear to be learning from their mistakes. When military vehicles escaped the ambush on Tuesday, al-Sadr's followers repositioned themselves so they could fire from the rear. On Friday, their ambush lit a tank on fire and a U.S. soldier was wounded in the head.
"They're getting smarter," Budihas said.
At the same time, they continue to make rookie mistakes.
Three al-Sadr followers were captured near a military checkpoint Friday when their car got stuck in the sand.
Inside the shirt pocket of one man was a document claiming he was a French journalist. But he was also carrying an invoice for weapons for the Mahdi Army, diagrams for making homemade bombs and a picture of al-Sadr in his wallet.
posted by Thaqalain | Sunday, April 25, 2004
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