Iraqi PM Gives Basra Gunmen Ultimatum

by Dave Keating | March 26, 2008 at 04:02 am

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As the security situation in Basra continues to deteriorate and the situation in Baghdad starts to show signs of mirroring it, some are questioning the strategy of both the British withdrawl from Basra and the American surge in Baghdad.

Essentially both hinged around a strategy of arming and paying specific Iraqi militia groups to take control of the security situation and combat terrorist efforts by foreign fighters. However some have worried that these militais that the US and UK are arming and paying are merely cooperating for now and biding their time until they use these arms and cash to launch an offensive against rival militias in a bid to seize power. Could these attacks be the first sign that the surge strategy is starting to unravel?

Clashes continued on Wednesday between Iraqi security forces and Shiite militias in the southern city of Basra, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki laid down a deadline for gunmen to surrender and fresh rocket attacks hit Baghdad's Green Zone.

The U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital said that three Americans were badly hurt by the latest strikes in the Green Zone, a fortified area that houses the U.S. embassy compound and the Iraqi government, according to the Associated Press. No further details were immediately available. Mortars and rockets have struck the Green Zone and other U.S. positions repeatedly since Sunday, with U.S. officials reporting 12 strikes on Tuesday.

According to wire reports, as many as 55 people have died over the last two days in intense clashes that began in Basra as part of an Iraqi government crackdown on Shiite militias in the area, particularly the Mahdi Army of hardline cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Violence subsequently spread to Shiite areas in Baghdad and other cities.