Iraqi Leader Blasts Sunni Hardliners

Young boys light up candles for the victims of clashes in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007. Clashes between rival Shiite militias, that broke out in Karbala during a religious festival, claimed more than 50 lives. Security was heightened in other Shiite areas to prevent clashes from spreading. (AP Photo/Ghassan al-Yassiri) (Ghassan Al Yassiri - AP)

Iraqi authorities mounted a massive security operation to protect the Karbala pilgrims from Sunni extremists, who have been behind deadly attacks against Shiites at religious ceremonies.

"The administrators of the two holy shrines received intelligence information few days before the pilgrimage that there was an organized plot to foment clashes between armed gunmen and the police forces," Sheik Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai told the congregation at the Imam Hussein mosque during Friday prayers.

He said the plot was designed to "create chaos around the two shrines" and seize control of them. He did not say who was behind the alleged plot.

In the wake of the carnage, Muqtada al-Sadr, the country's most powerful militia leader, suspended activities of his Mahdi Army for up to six months, purportedly to purge the ranks of unruly splinter factions that threaten to discredit his movement among Iraqi Shiites.

Al-Maliki's government said in a statement Thursday that al-Sadr's decision offered a "good chance" to "suspend the work of other militias" to restore "the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq."

Al-Sadr's order appeared to have had a calming effect in Baghdad, although a little-known faction in southern Iraq _ the Free Men's Brigade _ said it would not abide by the decree.

Al-Sadr loyalists in Baghdad suspect the Free Men's Brigade includes mostly Shiites who were supporters of Saddam Hussein.

American commanders believe Iranian-backed splinter groups from al-Sadr's organization have been responsible for most of the recent attacks in the Baghdad area that have caused American casualties.

The U.S. command said American troops arrested 24 suspected extremists Thursday during raids in the New Baghdad area, a Mahdi Army stronghold.

Also Friday, the U.S. military announced the deaths of two more U.S. service members _ a Marine and an Army soldier. They were killed Wednesday during fighting in Anbar province, the Sunni Arab stronghold west of Baghdad, the military said.

That brought the total U.S. troop deaths in Iraq to at least 79 this month, one more than in July, which was the lowest monthly figure this year.

In Anbar, U.S. and Iraqi forces raided houses Friday in the Euphrates River town of Haqlaniyah, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, and closed bridges linking the town with Haditha, according to residents reached by telephone.

Alhurra television reported that four al-Qaida fighters and two Sunni tribesmen opposed to the terror movement were killed in gunfights in Haqlaniyah.

Elsewhere in Anbar, the U.S. military said Marines from the 5th Regimental Combat Team killed 12 suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighters and destroyed two vehicles in fighting Wednesday near Fallujah.

Marine AV-8B Harrier jets dropped two precision-guided bombs, and Marines also called in artillery strikes against the insurgents during the battle, the military said.

"Numerous weapons and roadside bomb making materials were also found," the U.S. statement said.

U.S. officials have reported a dramatic drop in violence in Anbar after numerous Sunni Arab community leaders broke with al-Qaida in Iraq last year. Some members of other insurgent groups have joined forces with the U.S. to hunt down al-Qaida members.

The apparent turnaround in Anbar is expected to figure prominently in September reports to Congress, where prominent Democrats and Republicans have called for a drawdown in U.S. forces.