BAGHDAD — Iraq has resumed its crackdown on a leading Iranian-backed
Shi'ite militia.
Officials said Iraqi security forces have been ordered to search for
leading fugitives of the Mahdi Army, led by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
They said Mahdi has been turning to criminal activities to sustain weapons
procurement.
Officials said Iran appeared to have diverted much of its funding from
the Mahdi Army to such militias as Special Groups (SG) and Hizbullah Brigades.
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Hizbullah and SG were said to have been much more active in efforts to
destabilize the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, the
frontrunner in the results released from the March 7 parliamentary
elections.
On Feb. 24, Iraqi police arrested three suspected Mahdi Army operatives.
The suspected insurgents were captured during a raid of a Mahdi Army
safehouse in a village about 80 kilometers northeast of Baghdad.
A U.S. military statement said the mission targeted a senior regional
commander of Mahdi in northern Iraq. The statement said the unidentified
insurgent led several cells that were abducting people to raise funding.
"Acting on a warrant issued by an Iraqi judge, the 3rd Emergency
Response Unit and U.S. advisors searched two residential buildings for the
suspected leader of several JAM cells responsible for committing crimes such
as kidnappings-for-ransom in order to accumulate funds needed to acquire
weapons and supplies for use in attacks against security forces operating in
the area," the U.S. military said.
The three detainees were identified as associates of the Mahdi
commander. No other information was reported.