Taming of the Mahdi Army

THE streets that shook with bombings and shuddered with the rattle of gunfire are quieter now.

DEFEATED Mahdi Army leader Muqtada al Sadr DEFEATED: Mahdi Army leader Muqtada al-Sadr

For the first time in five years it is possible to walk – albeit through the strewn rubbish and poverty – in some safety. This is Basra, the ­ancient southern Iraqi city that has seen some of the war’s most bitter fighting in the battle against the militant Shia forces of the Mahdi Army.

The terrible violence that has shaken the once beautiful city – some claim it is the site of the ­Garden of Eden – has now calmed since the ­British troops and Iraqi forces took part this spring in the biggest combat operation of the war.

The joint strike’s colourful codename is Charge Of The Knights and it has been credited with ­defeating the formidable Mahdi Army that has been behind the bloody chaos of the past four years.

VICTORY British troops have beaten Madhi insurgents VICTORY: British troops have beaten Madhi insurgents

The British Army has played a major role in the victory. Although our troops have not taken to the streets on their own, their presence as both ­mentors and trainers of the inexperienced Iraqi Army is the key factor in the success. It is a high note on which the British can make a dignified and heroic exit next year when our last soldiers are expected to leave by June.

Former serving officer Amyas Godfrey, who did two tours of Iraq and is an associate fellow of the Royal United Services Institute, said that the ­operation had gone commendably to plan.

“It was comprehensive and very well thought out. One problem facing the Iraqi Army, however, was that its men were not totally prepared. But with the support of the British, it turned out very well. Getting a ­division of green soldiers into battle is very challenging.”

Godfrey added: “When the ­Shia militias left Basra they wrote on the walls: ‘We’ll be back.’ That’s an indication that they had been shaken. And, quite ­significantly, some members of the Iraqi Army wrote back the ­reply: ‘We’ll be waiting’.”

One bonus of the operation was that the Iraqi security forces were able to uncover large quantities of weapons and explosives left behind by the Mahdi Army. Working alongside mentors from the First Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, the Iraqi Army was guided by local residents to many caches of weapons located in gardens, outbuildings, shops and houses.

In the Hayyaniyah district of Basra, a notoriously dangerous area, weapons recovered included hundreds of rocket-propelled ­grenades, anti-aircraft missiles and mortars as well as various stolen government vehicles.

And the locals were overjoyed to see the soldiers. “I witnessed the relief of inhabitants who had been freed from the iron grip of the militias,” said Colonel Richard Iron, the British ­adviser to ­General Mohan al-Furayji, the Basra operations commander.

The Mahdi Army had been originally created by a small group of Shiites led by Muslim ­cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They started with about 500 religious students and grew into a forceof more than 10,000. Al-Sadr’s preaching is highly critical of the military operation. In April 2004 the army grabbed the headlines after an armed confrontation with American-led forces in Iraq.

The Mahdi force is well armed and many of the bombs used during its attacks on security and coalition forces are highly sophisticated, using infrared trigger bombs. Such devices were first used by the IRA in Northern ­Ireland during the mid-Nineties. The Mahdi Army’s wide popularity has proved highly influential and includes local government, the police and various important citizens among its supporters.

Some of its members claim the modern force is directly linked to the Mahdi Army of the late 19th century. The then Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, was a religious leader in Sudan who ­declared himself a prophesied ­redeemer of Islam.

In 1881 he declared a jihad against Egyptian authority in ­Sudan, leading a siege against the city of Khartoum to drive out the Egyptians and the British. When his army overran the city, his men murdered and beheaded the British commander General Charles Gordon. The Mahdi died soon after and without him his movement crumbled. In 1898 the British destroyed his army at the Battle of Omdurman.

Similarly, after Operation Charge Of The Knights, the ­modern Mahdi Army’s leadership and much of its rank and file were significantly weakened.

With British help, more than 1,200 Basra police ­officers, out of a force of 15,000, were arrested for their support of the Mahdi Army. The crews of 150 police cars were found to be disloyal, working in ­opposition to Iraqi forces.

When the British entered Basra in March 2003, it first ­appeared that their takeover would be a “cakewalk”. They were applauded in many parts of the Shia city and by April British troops even felt confident enough to patrol ­wearing soft caps, ­in an attempt to convey an impression of ­normality.

But this calm was not to last. Six British military policemen were killed by a howling mob while visiting a police station, having gone there to ask why the police had done nothing to prevent a paratroop ­patrol from being stoned.

It was the worst loss of British life in a single incident since the invasion began and more attacks were mounted as the Mahdi Army struggled to control the city. It was now clear that some ­major offensive would have to be taken against the militants.

But it was not until March 25 this year that thousands of Iraqi troops, with British aid, carried out a formidable military strike against the Shia insurgents in their Basra stronghold.

There were fierce clashes ­between both security forces and the militants after a dawn ­offensive in the city. In the Mahdi ­Army’s headquarters, field ­commanders were ordered to go to “maximum alert” and prepare to “strike the occupiers”.

The military operation against the Mahdi Army was complex and highly organised. Coalition and Iraqi aircraft patrolled the skies over Basra, giving intelligence reports and carrying out vital air strikes in support of the forces on the ground.

There was heavy resistance from the Mahdi militia inside the city, resulting in a stalled offensive. This required considerable British air and artillery support and there were 1,000 casualties reported in six days of heavy fighting.

On March 28 the British carried out two air strikes in support of Iraqi forces in Basra and also involved US Navy fighters that attacked a militia stronghold and a mortar team in Basra.

The battle for Basra raged for eight days, with one overnight lull. There was fighting throughout almost every district, although government troops and their British advisers had found it difficult to break in to neighbourhoods where the Mahdi Army had been entrenched for years.

The militants were using mortar shells, sniper fire and rocket-­propelled grenades to hold off the security forces and there were ­successes for the Mahdi Army when they overran a number of police ­stations and checkpoints.

But by March 30 the Mahdi Army was running out of ammunition and its troops were ordered to cease fighting. In a statement, Muqtada al-Sadr said: “Because of the ­religious ­responsibility and to stop Iraqi blood being shed and to ­maintain the unity of Iraq and to put an end to this sedition that the occupiers and their followers want to spread among the Iraqi people, we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra.” In other words, he was beaten.

Following the ceasefire, armed militants no longer appeared on the streets of Basra and life was returning to normal as shops and schools reopened.

The aftermath of the battle ­resulted in much debate as it ­appeared that it had ended indecisively as Iraqi security forces cleared some districts but faced ferocious resistance in others. Although there was now no fighting on the streets, clashes between the security forces and their British mentors against militants continued.

The Iraqi government was also forced to dismiss 1,300 soldiers and policemen who had deserted or

refused to fight during Operation Charge Of The Knights. Such ­deserters face courts martial.

The British have played a vital part in the restructuring of Iraq and when its six-year occupation of the southern area begins drawing to a close next March, it is clear that our contribution to the war will come under considerable scrutiny.

The rundown of our troops will be initially modest, increasing later. By the summer it is expected that ­almost all of the 4,000 UK troops now stationed in Basra will have gone home.

Some will remain, though. Three hundred will stay at the request of the Iraqis to help set up colleges to train officers and senior staff as well as helping the Iraqi Navy.

In a massive military exodus, which has already been named ­Operation Archives, all equipment – from tanks to tents – will be transported back to Britain. Some ­Merlin helicopters, however, will be sent to Afghanistan for use by British troops there.

One of the problems that British soldiers had faced is that they did not have sufficient numbers to ­defeat criminal gangs and smaller militia groups without US help.

Not surprisingly, Britain’s defence chiefs are now concerned that the reputation of the British military presence in Iraq should be seen as positive.

But in a war that has so far lasted longer than the Second World War, our men and women have acquitted themselves with great courage, ­intelligence and skill.

And when they finally leave Basra they can do so in the knowledge that they have played a vital part in bringing some peace and order to its battered streets.

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