BAGHDAD: The Iraqi Army yesterday pulled back most of its troops from central Baghdad after deadly weekend violence triggered by the arrest of an anti-Al-Qaeda militia leader on suspicion of murder and extortion.
“The situation is stable and we have begun to withdraw our troops from the neighborhood” of Fadel, said Baghdad military command spokesman Maj. Gen. Qasim Atta.
US-backed Iraqi forces clashed with anti-Al-Qaeda militants in Fadel on Saturday and Sunday, and ordered militiamen to hand over weapons after fighting erupted following the arrest of Adel Mashhadani.
A local chief of the Sahwa or Awakening militia of mostly Sunni former insurgents trained and financed by US and Iraqi forces to battle Al-Qaeda, Mashhadani had turned Fadel into his own bastion after clearing it of rebels.
“The area is now under the control of the army,” Atta said. “We will no longer give the Sahwa any powers in Fadel. The army will assume control and the Sahwa will be part of the security services.”
Lt. Mohammed Jassem told AFP that the militiamen there will “no longer be able to carry weapons.” Mashhadani was arrested on Saturday by Iraqi special forces, triggering clashes with his supporters in the impoverished neighborhood in the historic heartland of Baghdad that killed two civilians and wounded 15 other people.
