| Page 2 of 2 < |
Iraq Plans to Suspend Checkpoints at Syria, Iran Borders
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
The general also said the government intends to crack down on squatters, many of whom have occupied homes abandoned by people who left neighborhoods for fear of being killed by groups who target members of a rival sect.
Also Tuesday, a senior U.S. official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity said that anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had fled the country some weeks ago for neighboring Iran, according to the Associated Press.
The official said that the Shiite cleric's departure, which was reported by several television networks, is not believed to be permanent. Sadr left his Baghdad stronghold possibly because of fractures in his political and militia operations, AP cited the official as saying. Sadr heads the Mahdi Army, a powerful Shiite militia.
Aides to Sadr in Iraq would not confirm the report, which was not possible to independently verify.
Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded near warehouses that belong to Iraq's Interior Ministry in western Baghdad, killing at least 18 people, according to a ministry spokesman.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. military disclosed the death of an American soldier Sunday in Anbar province in western Iraq.
Special correspondent Waleed Saffar contributed to this report.
