BAGHDAD, 30 March 2008 — A senior Iraqi Cabinet minister urged troops yesterday to show “strength and courage” in the fight against Shiite militiamen in Basra but referred to “problems” that he assured would be addressed after the battle.
Interior Minister Jawad Al-Bolani did not specify the problems during his remarks, which were made in Basra before about 50 commandos. “I have confidence that you can turn the tide of any battle,” said Al-Bolani, whose ministry controls the police commandos. “I want you to fight with strength and courage and then we can talk about these problems later.” His reference to “problems” followed reports of desertions and mutinies among security forces fighting in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city.
Iraqi security officials said this week that two special police units dispatched to Basra from Baghdad had been beset by serious morale problems and that an army unit suffered an unspecified number of desertions. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some of the troops were demoralized by the superior firepower of the Mehdi Army militiamen and were refusing to return to the battle without more logistical support and better protection.
The reports cast fresh doubt on the combat preparedness and professionalism of the Iraqi security forces and whether they are capable of handling security without help from their US allies. The ongoing battles between militiamen and government security forces began in Basra and then flared in Baghdad and other cities. The US role in Basra has been limited to airstrikes and the use of advisers. But American ground troops are involved in fighting in Baghdad and several other cities against militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.
During his comments to the commandos, Al-Bolani promised monetary compensation but did not say how much the bonuses would be worth. “I want you to be disciplined with your officers,” he said, without elaborating.
Al-Bolani’s comments followed a vow by Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki not to leave Basra until security was restored.
US Widens Bombing
American jets widened the bombing of Basra yesterday, dropping two precision-guided bombs on a suspected militia stronghold north of the city, British officials said. Maj. Tom Holloway, a British military spokesman, said US jets dropped the two bombs on a militia position in Qarmat Ali shortly before 12:30 p.m. “My understanding was that this was a building that had people who were shooting back at Iraqi ground forces,” Holloway said.
The number of people killed in the latest strikes was not yet known, he added.
Iraqi police said that earlier yesterday a US warplane strafed a house and killed eight civilians, including two women and one child. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information.
Meanwhile, Sadr called on his followers to defy government orders to surrender their weapons, saying arms of the Mehdi Army should only be turned over to a national leadership “that can get the occupier” — meaning the Americans and their coalition allies — out of Iraq. The order was made public by a member of the political commission of the Sadr movement.
