Moqtada al-Sadr: "continue your jihad and resistance" against U.S. forces

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08414740.htm

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The government imposed a one-day curfew on the capital for Wednesday -- the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad -- but gave no reason. Sadr, a fiery cleric who was once an ally of Maliki, had called for a big anti-U.S. march in Baghdad on that day but cancelled it for fear his followers would be attacked.

Sadr urged his Mehdi Army to "continue your jihad and resistance" against U.S. forces, although he did not spell out if this was an explicit call for attacks on American soldiers.

Despite the more than 7-month-old ceasefire, Sadr's followers have clashed with Iraqi troops and U.S. forces in the south of the country and Baghdad in the past two weeks in the country's worst violence since the first half of 2007.

Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told CNN television the government was cracking down on "armed gangs" and was not specifically targeting Sadr's followers.

"We do not want to get into a confrontation with the Sadr movement," Salih said.