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Thursday, 17 May 2012 1:25 pm
High 14 oC - Low 7 oC
Iraqi Shia militia offshoot backed by Iran: Sadr
NAJAF - Fiery Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr sharply criticised an offshoot of his movement on Sunday, accusing them of killing Iraqi soldiers and policemen and being beholden to neighbouring Iran. It is the first time Sadr, who is himself judged by critics as close to Tehran, has publicly stated that Asaib Ahel al-Haq, or the League of the Righteous, is supported by the Islamic Republic. The cleric said that the Shiite militia, which is blamed for the killing of US troops, had only recently decided to lay down their arms because a political standoff in Baghdad has raised the spectre of early elections.
The group was also behind the 2007 kidnap of a British IT consultant and his four bodyguards. “I have asked the people who are in charge of them in the Islamic Republic to change the name of Asaib, and change their dual leadership,” Sadr said in a written response to a letter from a follower, published by his office on Sunday. “But these people refused.”
One of Asaib Ahel al-Haq’s leaders later dismissed Sadr’s accusations of political expediency. Washington has long blamed Iran for training and equipping Shiite militias, including Asaib Ahel al-Haq, that have carried out attacks against US and Iraqi soldiers, charges Tehran denies. Sadr did not specify what he meant by the group’s “dual leadership” but Asaib Ahel al-Haq is jointly led by the brothers Qais and Laith al-Khazali.
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