US
'Victory' Against Cult
Leader Was A 'Massacre'
By Patrick Cockburn
02 February, 2007
The
Independent
There
are growing suspicions in Iraq that the official story of the battle
outside Najaf between a messianic Iraqi cult and the Iraqi security
forces supported by the US, in which 263 people were killed and 210
wounded, is a fabrication. The heavy casualties may be evidence of an
unpremeditated massacre.
A picture is beginning to
emerge of a clash between an Iraqi Shia tribe on a pilgrimage to Najaf
and an Iraqi army checkpoint that led the US to intervene with devastating
effect. The involvement of Ahmed al-Hassani (also known as Abu Kamar),
who believed himself to be the coming Mahdi, or Messiah, appears to
have been accidental.
The story emerging on independent
Iraqi websites and in Arabic newspapers is entirely different from the
government's account of the battle with the so-called "Soldiers
of Heaven", planning a raid on Najaf to kill Shia religious leaders.
The cult denied it was involved
in the fighting, saying it was a peaceful movement. The incident reportedly
began when a procession of 200 pilgrims was on its way, on foot, to
celebrate Ashura in Najaf. They came from the Hawatim tribe, which lives
between Najaf and Diwaniyah to the south, and arrived in the Zarga area,
one mile from Najaf at about 6am on Sunday. Heading the procession was
the chief of the tribe, Hajj Sa'ad Sa'ad Nayif al-Hatemi, and his wife
driving in their 1982 Super Toyota sedan because they could not walk.
When they reached an Iraqi army checkpoint it opened fire, killing Mr
Hatemi, his wife and his driver, Jabar Ridha al-Hatemi. The tribe, fully
armed because they were travelling at night, then assaulted the checkpoint
to avenge their fallen chief.
Members of another tribe
called Khaza'il living in Zarga tried to stop the fighting but they
themselves came under fire. Meanwhile, the soldiers and police at the
checkpoint called up their commanders saying they were under attack
from al-Qai'da with advanced weapons. Reinforcements poured into the
area and surrounded the Hawatim tribe in the nearby orchards. The tribesmen
tried - in vain - to get their attackers to cease fire.
American helicopters then
arrived and dropped leaflets saying: "To the terrorists, surrender
before we bomb the area." The tribesmen went on firing and a US
helicopter was hit and crashed killing two crewmen. The tribesmen say
they do not know if they hit it or if it was brought down by friendly
fire. The US aircraft launched an intense aerial bombardment in which
120 tribesmen and local residents were killed by 4am on Monday.
The messianic group led by
Ahmad al-Hassani, which was already at odds with the Iraqi authorities
in Najaf, was drawn into the fighting because it was based in Zarga
and its presence provided a convenient excuse for what was in effect
a massacre. The Hawatim and Khaza'il tribes are opposed to the Supreme
Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the Dawa Party, who
both control Najaf and make up the core of the Baghdad government.
This account cannot be substantiated
and is drawn from the Healing Iraq website and the authoritative Baghdad
daily Azzaman. But it would explain the disparity between the government
casualties - less than 25 by one account - and the great number of their
opponents killed and wounded. The Iraqi authorities have sealed the
site and are not letting reporters talk to the wounded.
Sectarian killings across
Iraq also marred the celebration of the Shia ritual of Ashura. A suicide
bomber killed 23 worshippers and wounded 57 others in a Shia mosque
in Balad Ruz. Not far away in Khanaqin, in Diyala, a bomb killed 13
people, including three women, and wounded 29 others. In east Baghdad
mortar bombs killed 17 people.
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