Iranian-Trained Mahdi Army "Special Groups" Leader Captured by Puckish New Yorker Magazine Caricature and Iraqi Special Forces, But Mostly Iraqi Special Forces

Another one down.

Iraqi Special Operations Forces have captured a senior Mahdi Army Special Groups leader in the Shula neighborhood in the Ghazaliyah district in northwestern Baghdad. The Shula neighborhood has been a target of US and Iraqi forces over the past several weeks as the fighting in Sadr City has largely subsided.

The Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured what Multinational Forces Iraq called a "mid-level Special Groups leader" along with two associates during a raid on May 25. The commander, who is "affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps," is thought to lead a 300-man battalion of Mahdi Army fighters. He has been behind the kidnapping and murdering of Iraqis, and works for the Ministry of Interior.

In related raid, Coalition forces detained a Mahdi Army Special Groups leader in Suwayrah. The operative is described by Multinational Forces Iraq as an "explosively formed penetrator expert believed to be responsible for coordinating and directing attacks on Coalition forces in the Wasit province." The leader sent his fighters to Iran "for paramilitary training."

Thanks to CJ.

posted by Ace at 03:43 PM

| Access Comments