U.S. forces were drawn deeper into Iraq’s four day-old crackdown on Shiite militants on Friday, launching air strikes in Basra for the first time and battling militants in Baghdad.
President Bush said the resurgent violence would not alter his determination to continue his administration's mission there. Bush said the deadly flare-ups presented "a defining moment in the history of Iraq" as the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki seeks to root out Shiite militants.
"It's going to take awhile, but it's a necessary part of the development of a free society," Bush said at a White House news conference with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. At the same time, the president said the situation in Iraq remains "dangerous and fragile."
The renewed violence came as tensions rose among followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr angry over a crackdown that has threatened to unravel a militia cease-fire.
"Basra has been a place where criminality has thrived," Bush said. "They are fighting some pretty tough characters... and yes, there's going to be violence, and that's sad."
Renewed violence
Recent fighting has exposed a rift within the majority Shi'ite community and put pressure on al-Maliki, whose forces have failed to drive fighters loyal to the cleric off the streets of Iraq's second-largest city.
In the capital's U.S.-protected Green Zone government and diplomatic compound, a mortar or rocket strike hit the office of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi Friday, killing two security guards, an official said.
Al-Maliki has promised “no retreat” in the fight against militias in Basra despite growing anger among al-Sadr's followers. They say U.S. and Iraqi forces have taken advantage of their seven-month-old cease-fire to target the movement.
The campaign to rid Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, of lawless gangs and Shiite militias — some believed tied to nearby Iran — is a major test for al-Maliki and for the Iraqi military.
Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassim acknowledged at a news conference in Basra that Iraqi security forces had been caught off-guard by the strength of the opposition.
"We supposed that this operation would be a normal operation, but we were surprised by this resistance and have been obliged to change our plans and our tactics," he said.
The ability of Iraqi leaders and security forces to control situations like this one is key to U.S. hopes of withdrawing its forces from the country.
U.S. forces taking a larger role
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Friday that U.S. troops appeared to be taking the lead in the fighting in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, with Iraqi army and police units largely remaining on the outskirts.
A correspondent with the newspaper reported that four U.S. Stryker armored vehicles rumbled through Sadr City, one of them engaging militiamen with the Mahdi Army, which is loyal to al-Sadr, with heavy fire.
The newspaper said that American forces were involved in about a dozen gun battles on Thursday in Baghdad alone, with clashes spread across six neighborhoods.
To the south, a British military spokesman in Basra said U.S. warplanes carried out at least two airstrikes overnight in the oil port.
Maj. Tom Holloway said jets have been providing air support since clashes between Shiite militias and Iraqi forces erupted in the southern oil port on Monday, but it was the first time bombs have been dropped.
Iraqis have been in control of security in Basra since the British withdrew last December but Britain maintain troops there to provide assistance when needed.
In Baghdad, a U.S. helicopter launched a Hellfire missile during fighting in Sadr City early Friday, killing four gunmen, military spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said.
The strikes underscore the risks that the United States and its allies in Iraq could be drawn into an internal Shiite conflict that has threatened to unravel al-Sadr’s cease-fire and spark a new cycle of violence after months of relative calm.
Vice president's office struck
Lubna al-Hashemi, the daughter of Vice President al-Hashemi, said at least five guards were injured when rockets or mortars hit the courtyard outside her father's offices in Baghdad.
She said her father was praying at the time and was not in the offices.
The government says it is fighting "outlaws," but al-Sadr's followers say political parties in al-Maliki's Shiite-led government are using military force to marginalize their rivals ahead of local elections due by October.
The Iraqi ground commander in Basra, Maj. Gen. Ali Zaidan, told Reuters his forces had killed 120 "enemy" fighters and wounded around 450 since the campaign began.
But Reuters television footage from Basra showed masked Mahdi Army gunmen still in control of the streets, openly carrying rocket launchers and machine guns.
In Baghdad, Iraqi authorities instituted a strict curfew on Friday.
Emergency session of parliament
In political developments, the main Shiite bloc in parliament said it would not attend an emergency session called for Friday to find ways to end fighting between government forces and militiamen in southern Iraq.
Deputy parliamentary speaker Khalid al-Attiyah, also a member of the United Iraqi Alliance, said the events in the south are a law and order issue, not legislative.
The bloc has been in contact with its Kurdish allies to boycott Friday’s session too, which would prevent a quorum, he said.
It was not immediately clear whether house speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, would still attempt to convene a session.
Amid the crisis, the prime minister has decided to skip this weekend’s Arab summit, officials said. Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi will attend the meeting in Syria instead, according to Laith Shobar, an adviser to the Shiite vice president.
Ripples of violence across Shiite heartland
The Basra offensive has triggered a violent response among al-Sadr's followers, with dozens killed in Baghdad and across the Shiite heartland of southern Iraq.
- At least 22 people — six civilians, four Iraqi security forces and 12 militants — were killed Friday in fierce fighting in the southern cities of Mahmoudiya, Nasiriyah and Kut, according to reports from police and army officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.
- Suspected militia fighters also killed the top administrator in a village near Diwaniyah, police said.
- Al-Sadr's office in Mahmoudiya also said 15 Iraqi soldiers had been captured, including two officers, in the city, about 20 miles south of the capital.
- Ten rounds of rockets or mortars also were lobbed at a U.S. facility in the southern city of Hillah, although no casualties were reported, the military said.
- Sporadic fighting also was reported in predominantly Shiite areas in eastern Baghdad despite a curfew banning unauthorized movement in the capital was imposed from 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Sunday.
- Purported Mahdi Army gunmen abducted three policemen with their weapons and vehicle in one area and clashes erupted between militiamen and U.S.-Iraqi troops in another, according to police.
- The U.S. military did not immediately comment on the latest reports but said 26 militants died during operations Thursday in mostly Shiite areas in Baghdad.
Call for weapons to be turned over
Al-Maliki’s office also announced Friday that it has given residents in Basra until April 8 to turn over “heavy and medium-size weapons” in return for unspecified monetary compensation.
The deadline is separate from the three-day ultimatum for gunmen to surrender their arms and renounce violence or face harsher measures, which expires later Friday, government adviser Sadiq al-Rikabi said.
The move instead appeared to be aimed at noncombatants who may have weapons like machine-guns and grenade launchers either for smuggling purposes or to sell to militants or criminal gangs.
The government also announced a days-old curfew in Basra would be loosened to allow people to move around in the city from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to facilitate shopping and other necessary tasks. It also called on local agencies to use the time to help residents, who have complained of food shortages and other problems amid the chaos.
