And the massacres keep accruing - rg

US 'victory' against cult leader was 'massacre'
By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad

The Independent/UK
Published: 31 January 2007

There are growing suspicions in Iraq that the official story of the
battle outside Najaf between a messianic Iraqi cult and the Iraqi
security forces supported by the US, in which 263 people were killed
and 210 wounded, is a fabrication. The heavy casualties may be
evidence of an unpremeditated massacre.

A picture is beginning to emerge of a clash between an Iraqi Shia
tribe on a pilgrimage to Najaf and an Iraqi army checkpoint that led
the US to intervene with devastating effect. The involvement of Ahmed
al-Hassani (also known as Abu Kamar), who believed himself to be the
coming Mahdi, or Messiah, appears to have been accidental.

The story emerging on independent Iraqi websites and in Arabic
newspapers is entirely different from the government's account of the
battle with the so-called "Soldiers of Heaven", planning a raid on
Najaf to kill Shia religious leaders.

The cult denied it was involved in the fighting, saying it was a
peaceful movement. The incident reportedly began when a procession of
200 pilgrims was on its way, on foot, to celebrate Ashura in
Najaf. They came from the Hawatim tribe, which lives between Najaf and
Diwaniyah to the south, and arrived in the Zarga area, one mile from
Najaf at about 6am on Sunday. Heading the procession was the chief of
the tribe, Hajj Sa'ad Sa'ad Nayif al-Hatemi, and his wife driving in
their 1982 Super Toyota sedan because they could not walk. When they
reached an Iraqi army checkpoint it opened fire, killing Mr Hatemi,
his wife and his driver, Jabar Ridha al-Hatemi. The tribe, fully armed
because they were travelling at night, then assaulted the checkpoint
to avenge their fallen chief.

Members of another tribe called Khaza'il living in Zarga tried to stop
the fighting but they themselves came under fire. Meanwhile, the
soldiers and police at the checkpoint called up their commanders
saying they were under attack from al-Qai'da with advanced
weapons. Reinforcements poured into the area and surrounded the
Hawatim tribe in the nearby orchards. The tribesmen tried - in vain -
to get their attackers to cease fire.

American helicopters then arrived and dropped leaflets saying: "To the
terrorists, surrender before we bomb the area." The tribesmen went on
firing and a US helicopter was hit and crashed killing two
crewmen. The tribesmen say they do not know if they hit it or if it
was brought down by friendly fire. The US aircraft launched an intense
aerial bombardment in which 120 tribesmen and local residents were
killed by 4am on Monday.

The messianic group led by Ahmad al-Hassani, which was already at odds
with the Iraqi authorities in Najaf, was drawn into the fighting
because it was based in Zarga and its presence provided a convenient
excuse for what was in effect a massacre. The Hawatim and Khaza'il
tribes are opposed to the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in
Iraq (SCIRI) and the Dawa Party, who both control Najaf and make up
the core of the Baghdad government.

This account cannot be substantiated and is drawn from the Healing
Iraq website and the authoritative Baghdad daily Azzaman. But it would
explain the disparity between the government casualties - less than 25
by one account - and the great number of their opponents killed and
wounded. The Iraqi authorities have sealed the site and are not
letting reporters talk to the wounded.

Sectarian killings across Iraq also marred the celebration of the Shia
ritual of Ashura. A suicide bomber killed 23 worshippers and wounded
57 others in a Shia mosque in Balad Ruz. Not far away in Khanaqin, in
Diyala, a bomb killed 13 people, including three women, and wounded 29
others. In east Baghdad mortar bombs killed 17 people.