A missile struck the central Baghdad headquarters of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council on Monday, said an official for the party, which is the main rival of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for control of Shi’ite areas.

The official, whose party is the biggest Shi’ite group in the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, was unable to give any details on possible casualties.

http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL21773362

Hopefully, there were no casualties; it’s just this kind of stuff that gets Iraq closer to another civil war.
====

UPDATE: no one was hurt.

Like or Dislike: 0  0

Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday threatened an “open war” against the Iraqi government unless it halted a crackdown by Iraqi and U.S. security forces on his followers.

The specter of a full-scale uprising by Sadr sharply raises the stakes in his confrontation with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who has threatened to ban the anti-American cleric’s movement from political life unless he disbands his militia.

A rebellion by Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia — which has tens of thousands of fighters — could abruptly end a period of lower violence at a time when U.S. forces are starting to leave Iraq.

“I’m giving the last warning and the last word to the Iraqi government — either it comes to its senses and takes the path of peace … or it will be (seen as) the same as the previous government,” Sadr said, referring to Saddam Hussein’s fallen regime, without elaborating.

“If they don’t come to their senses and curb the infiltrated militias, then we will declare an open war until liberation.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL0434078820080420

Like or Dislike: 0  0

What? No comment from the peanut gallery???

Like or Dislike: 0  0