Baghdad Governor Suspends Cooperation With U.S. Forces
http://www.rferl.org/...
March 27, 2006 -- Baghdad provincial Governor Husayn al-Tahan said he is suspending all cooperation with U.S. forces until an independent investigation is launched into the killing of 20 Shi'a, allegedly in or near a mosque.
Speaking to reporters in Baghdad, al-Tahan said, "Today we decided to stop all political and service cooperation with the U.S. forces until a legal committee is formed to investigate this incident."
He said the inquiry panel should include representatives from the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi Defense Ministry, but not the U.S. military.
Followers of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr blame U.S. forces for killing the 20 Shi'a in and around a mosque in Baghdad on March 26.
The U.S. military denies the charges, saying Iraqi forces backed by U.S. advisers killed 16 insurgents in an operation in the same neighborhood.
This hasn't quite made it to CNN yet - they're probably waiting for the "official version" of the events. Here's some more on this development:
Iraq’s ruling Shiite alliance also demanded US forces return control of security to Iraqis. Officials in Baghdad backed radical cleric Moqtada Sadr’s charge that US troops massacred worshippers in the Mustafa mosque near Baghdad’s Sadr City. The US military said Iraqi troops, with US advisers, only returned fire aimed by Sadr’s Mehdi Army militiamen during a raid to arrest terrorists. They said 16 people were killed in the exchange, but no mosque was entered or damaged.
DEBKAfile reported Sunday that this incident plus a US raid of an interior ministry prison bunker holding foreign prisoners would raise tensions between the Shiite- dominated government of Ibrahim Jaafari government and the Americans. The bunker was similar to secret prison discovered last November with 173 mostly Sunni inmates in bad shape.
The ruling Shiite Alliance Party appears to be closing ranks behind its member, the radical Sadr’s faction.