The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • National

    U.S. soldier kills 12, wounds 31 at Texas base

  • Politics

    Congress OKs jobless benefits, housing credit

  • Politics

    Obama hails AARP, AMA endorsements

  • Politics

    Majority leader: House will pass health bill

  • World

    U.N. moving staff from Kabul after attack

  • National

    JOHNSON: Iran a hard target to penetrate

  • National

    RIEDL: New priorities require new budget process

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Militant cleric gaining support from Iraqi youth

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos

More Stories

  • U.S. trials OK'd for 9/11 suspects
  • Panel OKs climate-change bill without GOP
  • 60 Plus leader warns of 'senior citizen tsunami'
  • U.N. to pull 600 staff from Afghanistan

By

Firebrand Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is rapidly gaining support among Iraqi youth, raising fears he could eventually unify Shi'ites and Sunnis against American forces.

A senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace said yesterday he had seen groups of Iraqi youth raptly listening to tapes of Sheik al-Sadr, and both young men and girls kissing his posters.

Even police stations had pictures of Sheik al-Sadr on the walls, said Babak Rahimi, just back from a two-week trip to southern Iraq.

Followers of the militant cleric, who has been generally quiet since leading two uprisings against American forces last year, have been engaged in two days of violent clashes with the rival Iranian-trained Badr Brigades in the holy city of Najaf.

But yesterday Sheik al-Sadr sought to project himself as the voice of reason, ordering his Mahdi militia to end the fighting and calling for Shi'ite unity.

Violence flared elsewhere, with gunmen north of Baghdad attacking cars owned by President Jalal Talabani, killing eight of his bodyguards and wounding 15, a security official told the Associated Press.

Also yesterday, police reported finding 36 bodies in a dry riverbed near the Iranian border, their hands bound and with bullet wounds in the head. Their identities were not immediately clear.

A deadline for a parliamentary vote on a new constitution was extended for the third time, giving the parties another 24 hours to try to persuade Sunni negotiators to support the draft document.

Fighting between the Mahdi militia and the Badr Brigades -- the military wing of the leading Shi'ite political party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) -- began after Sheik al-Sadr's followers tried Wednesday to reopen an office in Najaf.

Armed men moved to stop them, setting the office on fire and killing four al-Sadr followers. The Mahdi militia blamed the Badr Brigade and retaliated by attacking SCIRI offices in several southern cities.

12Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Commenting is disabled for this entry.
If you feel there is still something worth mentioning about this entry please contact the author or the site admin.

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  2. White candidate scrambles vote, attitudes in Atlanta race
  3. EDITORIAL: Jesus, no, but yes to Allah
  4. Can the 10th Amendment save us?
  5. Independents fuel GOP victories in Va., N.J.
More Top Stories »
  1. Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty
  2. Man fatally burned in Md. gas station fire
  3. GOP eyes 3-state sweep of key contests
  4. EXCLUSIVE: Marine leads 'Don't ask, don't tell' fight
  5. PRUDEN: Day of reckoning for the GOP

Most Shared

  1. EDITORIAL: Eat your pets, save the planet
  2. Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty
  3. HHS admits overstating flu-vaccine availability
  4. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  5. EDITORIAL: Jesus, no, but yes to Allah
More Top Stories »
  1. Can the 10th Amendment save us?
  2. Man fatally burned in Md. gas station fire
  3. Va. Supreme Court upholds power line
  4. D.C. climate conference attendees clash
  5. A bumpy ride for Democrats

Most Commented

  1. Owens tops Hoffman in N.Y. House race
  2. EDITORIAL: Jesus, no, but yes to Allah
  3. Independents fuel GOP victories in Va., N.J.
  4. HHS admits overstating flu-vaccine availability
  5. Need for Republican unity seen as election lesson
More Top Stories »
  1. Maine voters reject gay-marriage law
  2. EDITORIAL: Eat your pets, save the planet
  3. D.C. climate conference attendees clash
  4. Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty
  5. Obama hails AARP, AMA endorsements

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Blogs & Columns

  • POTUS Notes

    New Dem talking point on Obama approval doesn't wash

  • The Back Story

    12 arrested at Pelosi's office

  • Belief Blog

    Washington goes Greek this week

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Redskins 360

    Smith hurt again, Paulescu will sign Friday

  • Tara's Two Cents

    On their way to summer vacation..

  • SNOBlog

    'Transformers' movie: Robots in blackface?

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.