Five killed in Karbala, Blair supports a sovereign state
Iraq, Politics, 5/20/2004

Five persons were killed and other 9 injured in confrontations between al-Mahdi army which belongs to the Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sader and the occupation forces in Karbala.

A medical source explained that the bodies of five civilians were brought to the hospital of the city since Tuesday evening and 9 injured were admitted, three of them are in critical conditions.

In al-Najaf city, confrontation stopped between members of al-Mahdi army and the American forces stationed in the city near the 20th revolution square.

Armed men of al-Mahdi army used mortars and RPJ shelling in a violent fighting that erupted between the two sides, retaliated by the American side by artillery and machine guns.

These clashes coincided with a demonstration carried out by hundreds of persons at the invitation of Abdul Mahdi al-Karbal'i, the representative of the Shiite clergy Ayatullah al-Ozma Ali al-Seistani in Karbala to express support for the Shiite cleric and demanding eliminating all armed manifestations in the city as well as from Najaf. The city also witnessed a similar demonstration in support of Muqtada al-Sader.

While fighting is taking place in southern Iraq between supporters of Muqtada al-Sader and the occupation forces, al-Sader city in the eastern quarters witness a two-day truce between the two sides.

In other field developments, one American marine was killed during military operations in al-Anbar governorate to the west of Iraq. The occupation forces did not explain details of the operation in which the American soldier was killed.

In Northern Iraq, one Britain was killed by bullets while he was on the way between al-Musil and Irbil, one day after the announcement made by the British foreign office of the killing of another British in Baghdad.

In al-Musil, Abdullah al-Shummari, the local administration official in al- Ba'aj city to northern west Baghdad survived the assassination attempt in which one police man of his guard was killed and another one was strongly wounded.

These developments coincided with the announcement of a group calling itself al-Tawhid and al-Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack which targeted the chairman of the Iraqi Interim governing council Ezz Eddine Salim on Monday in an attack in a booby trapped car.

The group which is led by the Jordanian Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi -- suspected to be a member in al-Qaida organization -- said in a statement on the Internet that Salim was killed at the hand of one of its Saudi members, named Abu Salamah al-Hijazi.

In the political field, the British prime minister Tony Blair said that the new Iraqi government will enjoy a full sovereignty after June 30, remarking that this government will have the full control on the jails in Iraq and the oil resources of the country.

The statements made by Blair came as a reply to a question to this effect by the leader of the Liberal democratic party Charles Kennedy during a session for the British house of Commons yesterday.

Within the same context persons who demand the withdrawal of Ukraine forces, numbered 160 soldiers from Iraq, failed to get necessary votes to take this decision in the parliament.

The demand to withdraw the forces has been increased in April following the killing of two soldiers from Ukraine in an ambush thereby the number of killings in the lines of Ukraine forces in Iraq increased to 6 since their deployment there in August 2003.

Previous Stories:
  King Abdullah: we do not have the right to send forces to Iraq   (5/18/2004)
  Unidentified group claims responsibility fir the assassination of Salim, world wide condemnation for the attack   (5/18/2004)
  Falluja maintains solidarity with al-Sader, ten Iraqis killed in battles in Baghdad, the south   (5/17/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search