IRAQ: Uprising

IndependentUS stoking unrest before festival, say Shia

American commanders in Iraq vowed yesterday to arrest Muqtada Sadr, the young Shia leader, and crush the black-clad militiamen of his Mehdi Army amid signs that US actions are alienating the Iraqi Shia community as a whole.

US soldiers do not seem able to distinguish between the Army of the Mehdi and ordinary Shia pilgrims on their way to the holy city of Kerbala to commemorate the feast of Arbain, which starts today, forty days after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of the founders of their faith.

"The Americans are just as bad as Saddam Hussein," said Hamid al-Ugily, the leader of six men from Sadr city carrying a green flag who are spending two to three days walking to Kerbala. "We think they will attack Muqtada in Najaf. We will defend our religious leaders."