Threats: Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al Sadr and al-Qaeda leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir
Moqtada al Sadr has threatened ‘open war’ against the Baghdad government if it does not stop operations against his Medhi army [BBC]. "I'm giving the last warning and the last word to the Iraqi government," Moqtada Sadr said in a statement released Saturday. Clashes between the Mehdi army with the US army helped by Iraqi troops have increased tensions in Sadr City, Baghdad. Local reports suggest seven have died in recent fighting. There were further reports of fighting in the southern city of Nasiriya over the weekend and increased military activity in Basra.
The threat of increased violence also came from al-Qaeda in Iraq. A speaker identified as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, posted a recording on several Islamist Web sites calling for its ‘heroes’ to offer the ‘deceitful Bush’ a ‘gift’. In the recording the militant says, “The reason I give this speech is that the enemy declared -- even though it might be lying -- that its death toll in Iraq has reached 4,000. So we call upon our heroes ... to ask every group within a month from the time it hears this, to offer the head of an American as a gift to the deceitful [President] Bush”. As of Saturday, 4,036 U.S. troops had died in the Iraq war [CNN].
In Baquba there were more signs of the increased instability after three male students and their driver were kidnapped. The students, who were returning to Diyala University after a weekend break, were halted by gunmen at a fake checkpoint and taken away. The province of Diyala, where the incident took place, is seen as one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq. In the last week alone, two attacks in or close to Baquba itself killed at least 80 people [BBC].
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