Ex-Saddam fighters aid Shi'ite militia in Najaf fray

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NAJAF, Iraq -- A colonel from Saddam Hussein's most elite fighting force, the Special Republican Guard, has been training members of the Shi'ite militia battling U.S. forces in this holy city for more than two weeks.

His presence was tangible evidence of links between Sheik Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi's Army and fighters loyal to the ousted regime. Saddam's mainly Sunni officer corps and the Shi'ites who make up the Mahdi's Army long have been hostile to one another, but could cause more trouble for the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi by joining forces.

A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad was reluctant to comment on links between Sheik al-Sadr's forces and the fighters in Fallujah.

"We have nothing that we can confirm at this time," he said.

The former colonel, Rifaat al-Janabi, was interviewed in a shaded corner of the green-and-gold Kufa mosque, where he had been training six Shi'ite fighters in the art of guerrilla warfare.

He said he and nine other officers from the Special Republican Guard had been sent to Najaf from Fallujah, the main Sunni flash point west of Baghdad.

"The Fallujah Consultancy Council of Mujahideen [holy warriors] sent me with nine other officers and 40 soldiers who are well-trained in using mortars and RPG-7 grenade launchers," said Col. al-Janabi, who, unlike most Iraqi insurgents, had no qualms about giving his name.

"We had to stand by our Shi'ite brothers in Najaf, who stood by us in Fallujah," he said.

That was a reference to aid provided by the Mahdi's Army during a major insurrection in Fallujah in the spring.

"It is an honorable stance of Fallujah people, who sent us experts in using weapons," said one Mahdi's Army militiaman. "We are in need of military training."