British-Iraqi force get head of Mahdi army on Mookies return

Times:

Armed militiamen took to the streets of Basra last night after the local leader of the Mahdi Army was killed in a British-Iraqi operation.

As tension rose in Iraq’s second city, British forces prepared for a backlash from supporters of the powerful Shia militia, which is loyal to Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr.

The firebrand cleric made his first public appearance for several months to denounce the continued occupation of Iraq and to urge an end to the fighting between his followers and Iraqi security forces.

Within hours of his address, Iraqi special forces shot dead Wissam al-Waili, also known as Abu Qadir, along with two other men as they left one of Hojatoleslam al-Sadr’s offices in a car, a British military spokesman said. The Mahdi Army’s Basra chieftain had been trying to resist arrest, Major David Gell added.

As news of Abu Qadir’s death spread around the city, about 200 British soldiers taking part in the mission were attacked with smalls arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades as they pulled out of the city and headed back to base. They returned fire, killing at least one militia member. A British soldier was also injured.

Despite denials that British troops were involved in the attempted arrest, the Mahdi Army claimed that British forces had hit Abu Qadur’s car with a rocket. He left the vehicle but was killed when a second rocket struck him, it alleged.

Without an obvious British presence on the streets, the Mahdi Army was able to roam freely around Basra, according to a Times correspondent on the ground. Militiamen cut off many of the roads, and families remained inside.

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Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment and the 4th Battalion The Rifles threw a cordon around Abu Qadir’s car as the Iraqi forces went in, according to Maj Gell. The Mahdi Army commander was wanted for political assassinations, gun smuggling and attacks on British troops.

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He is a guy who got what he deserved, it is just too bad it took so long to get him. His death may spoke Mookie who just returned from Iran where he had been hiding. His followers may have street tantrums for a few days, but they are a poorly trained, poorly led rag tag "militia" that is incapable of an organized military operation, although they may try some terrorist activity with Iranian weapons.