.Shiite Lauds, Warns 'Awakening Councils'
BAGHDAD (AP) - Former Sunni insurgents - wearing masks and wailing in grief - joined a funeral procession Friday for a leader killed for turning his guns on Islamic extremists instead of America in a contested city that al-Qaida in Iraq once considered its capital.
The burial of 29-year-old Naseer Salam al-Maamouri, placed in a casket draped with the Iraqi flag, also served as a show of resolve for the tribes that have chosen to back the U.S.-led struggle to regain control of Baqouba, the strategic urban hub of Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
For the moment, the tribal militias - known as Awakening Councils, Concerned Citizens and other names - have given U.S. and Iraqi forces a key advantage in seeking to clear extremist-held pockets in and around Baghdad. But the Sunni militiamen are demanding something in return: permanent jobs and influence in Iraq's security forces.
The Shiite-led government has been slow to respond, despite Washington's fears that the tribal support could collapse into chaos without swift integration into the standing forces.
Mixed messages were delivered Friday by the head of the nation's biggest Shiite political party.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraq Council, praised the help of the Sunni militias - comments that could increase pressure on the government to open more room for the fighters.
But he also insisted the groups must submit to government authority, reflecting Shiite worries that the armed Sunni factions could evolve into a rebel movement.
"I want to remind people about the role that our police and army forces are playing, as well the Awakening Councils and the tribes," al-Hakim told about 5,000 faithful during a sermon in southwest Baghdad. "They are practicing an honorable national role, they are expressing the unity of Iraqis in confronting the enemies of Iraq."
Al-Hakim tempered his praise of the tribal fighters with a warning that they must remain "on the side of the government in chasing terrorists and criminals, but not be a substitute for it."
"Weapons should be within the hands of the government only," he added.
He insisted the groups should be active only in areas where there is sustained fighting - such as Diyala - but that they should stand down in less volatile areas, fearing the Sunni factions will stir up sectarian strife.
The outreach to Sunnis and the cries of mourning at the funeral were both telling signs of how far Iraq has changed in the past year.
Last December, many of today's pro-American Sunni groups were fighting U.S. troops, the Pentagon openly worried about a Shiite-Sunni civil war and firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was still a wanted man.
This month, the U.S. military has reported a 60 percent decline in violence since June. According to figures compiled by The Associated Press, fewer than 600 Iraqi civilians and security forces have been killed so far in December. The figure was 2,309 in December 2006.
On Friday, the first day of the Eid al-Adha religious feast for Iraq's Shiites, just four people were reported killed around the country.
Al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army militia in August to put down their weapons for six months and has taken up religious studies in an effort to become an ayatollah. The U.S. military is now chasing Mahdi splinter groups that have refused to comply with al-Sadr's edict.
"Coalition troops will continue to target terrorists who seek to kill innocent Iraqis, coalition and Iraqi forces, and those who are not honoring Al-Sayed Muqtada al-Sadr's pledge to cease attacks," said Maj. Winfield Danielson, a military spokesman. Al-Sayed is an honorific often reserved for respected and senior clerics.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman, said more than 71,000 Iraqis have joined the irregular militia groups. An estimated 21,000 are interested in serving in the Iraqi security forces, he added. Iraq's government has said it will pay to provide vocational training for the rest.
In Baqouba, masked gunmen placed an Iraqi flag on the casket of al-Maamouri and loaded it onto a pickup truck. AP Television News footage showed trucks - carrying gunmen shouting "God is great" - taking the casket for burial.
Al-Maamouri was one of the local security chiefs of the 1920s Revolution Brigades, a former insurgent group. The group includes former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party and officers from his army.
According to local group members, al-Maamouri was responsible for about 200 fighters and helped coordinate a pact with U.S. forces.
He was driving around Baqouba with two of his bodyguards handing out gifts for the Eid festival when he was kidnapped. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found Thursday.
Graffiti threatening to kill those who worked with American forces began appearing on walls in the area more than a week ago, group members said.
Al-Qaida in Iraq began moving into Diyala in 2006 after losing its sanctuaries in Anbar province. An extremist umbrella group set up by al-Qaida declared Baqouba as the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq. U.S. forces and volunteer groups have been systematically pushing them out of Diyala.
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The burial of 29-year-old Naseer Salam al-Maamouri, placed in a casket draped with the Iraqi flag, also served as a show of resolve for the tribes that have chosen to back the U.S.-led struggle to regain control of Baqouba, the strategic urban hub of Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
For the moment, the tribal militias - known as Awakening Councils, Concerned Citizens and other names - have given U.S. and Iraqi forces a key advantage in seeking to clear extremist-held pockets in and around Baghdad. But the Sunni militiamen are demanding something in return: permanent jobs and influence in Iraq's security forces.
The Shiite-led government has been slow to respond, despite Washington's fears that the tribal support could collapse into chaos without swift integration into the standing forces.
Mixed messages were delivered Friday by the head of the nation's biggest Shiite political party.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Islamic Iraq Council, praised the help of the Sunni militias - comments that could increase pressure on the government to open more room for the fighters.
But he also insisted the groups must submit to government authority, reflecting Shiite worries that the armed Sunni factions could evolve into a rebel movement.
"I want to remind people about the role that our police and army forces are playing, as well the Awakening Councils and the tribes," al-Hakim told about 5,000 faithful during a sermon in southwest Baghdad. "They are practicing an honorable national role, they are expressing the unity of Iraqis in confronting the enemies of Iraq."
Al-Hakim tempered his praise of the tribal fighters with a warning that they must remain "on the side of the government in chasing terrorists and criminals, but not be a substitute for it."
"Weapons should be within the hands of the government only," he added.
He insisted the groups should be active only in areas where there is sustained fighting - such as Diyala - but that they should stand down in less volatile areas, fearing the Sunni factions will stir up sectarian strife.
The outreach to Sunnis and the cries of mourning at the funeral were both telling signs of how far Iraq has changed in the past year.
Last December, many of today's pro-American Sunni groups were fighting U.S. troops, the Pentagon openly worried about a Shiite-Sunni civil war and firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was still a wanted man.
This month, the U.S. military has reported a 60 percent decline in violence since June. According to figures compiled by The Associated Press, fewer than 600 Iraqi civilians and security forces have been killed so far in December. The figure was 2,309 in December 2006.
On Friday, the first day of the Eid al-Adha religious feast for Iraq's Shiites, just four people were reported killed around the country.
Al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army militia in August to put down their weapons for six months and has taken up religious studies in an effort to become an ayatollah. The U.S. military is now chasing Mahdi splinter groups that have refused to comply with al-Sadr's edict.
"Coalition troops will continue to target terrorists who seek to kill innocent Iraqis, coalition and Iraqi forces, and those who are not honoring Al-Sayed Muqtada al-Sadr's pledge to cease attacks," said Maj. Winfield Danielson, a military spokesman. Al-Sayed is an honorific often reserved for respected and senior clerics.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman, said more than 71,000 Iraqis have joined the irregular militia groups. An estimated 21,000 are interested in serving in the Iraqi security forces, he added. Iraq's government has said it will pay to provide vocational training for the rest.
In Baqouba, masked gunmen placed an Iraqi flag on the casket of al-Maamouri and loaded it onto a pickup truck. AP Television News footage showed trucks - carrying gunmen shouting "God is great" - taking the casket for burial.
Al-Maamouri was one of the local security chiefs of the 1920s Revolution Brigades, a former insurgent group. The group includes former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party and officers from his army.
According to local group members, al-Maamouri was responsible for about 200 fighters and helped coordinate a pact with U.S. forces.
He was driving around Baqouba with two of his bodyguards handing out gifts for the Eid festival when he was kidnapped. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found Thursday.
Graffiti threatening to kill those who worked with American forces began appearing on walls in the area more than a week ago, group members said.
Al-Qaida in Iraq began moving into Diyala in 2006 after losing its sanctuaries in Anbar province. An extremist umbrella group set up by al-Qaida declared Baqouba as the capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq. U.S. forces and volunteer groups have been systematically pushing them out of Diyala.
MyWay
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