Iraqi cleric Sadr vows revenge over shrine blast
alertnet: Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr blamed the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in the Iraqi town of Samarra on Wednesday on Sunni Arab militants and vowed to take revenge, a spokesman for Sadr said.
"We will not only condemn and protest but we will act against those militants. If the Iraqi government does not do its job to defend the Iraqi people we are ready to do so," said Abdel Hadi al-Darajee of Sadr's position.
Members of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia have already clashed with Sunnis in Diwaniya and Basra.
Sunni Arab militants loyal to al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for many of the bombing attacks that have killed thousands of Shi'ites.
Sadr, who led two uprisings against U.S. and Iraqi troops, has become a kingmaker in Iraqi politics after joining a Shi'ite alliance that will have the biggest bloc in parliament after Dec. 15 elections.
Witnesses said scores of his militiamen armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades took over streets in his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City after the Samarra attack. Link
"We will not only condemn and protest but we will act against those militants. If the Iraqi government does not do its job to defend the Iraqi people we are ready to do so," said Abdel Hadi al-Darajee of Sadr's position.
Members of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia have already clashed with Sunnis in Diwaniya and Basra.
Sunni Arab militants loyal to al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for many of the bombing attacks that have killed thousands of Shi'ites.
Sadr, who led two uprisings against U.S. and Iraqi troops, has become a kingmaker in Iraqi politics after joining a Shi'ite alliance that will have the biggest bloc in parliament after Dec. 15 elections.
Witnesses said scores of his militiamen armed with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades took over streets in his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City after the Samarra attack. Link
posted by exoplanet at 2:17 PM
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