Iraq Watch: January 6, 2006

Shiites Protest After Days of Bloodshed; Six U.S. Soldiers Die

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Nearly 5,000 Shiites protested in the capital city following traditional Friday prayers after two days of bloodshed which has left at least 180 Iraqis dead.

The demonstrators chanted slogans against the U.S. presence in Iraq and prominent Sunni leaders such as Adnan al-Dulaimi and Saleh al-Mutlaq.

The most powerful Shiite religious bloc in the country, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which is headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, issued a statement condemning the U.S. for what they see as restricting Iraq's counterterrorism network. "Not allowing these two ministries (Defense and Interior) to do their job means exposing helpless Iraqis to ruthless terrorists"

The ministry's, one lead by a former Shiite militiaman, have recently come under increased scrutiny following allegations of prisoner abuse and secret detention facilities.

The SCIRI also promised retribution if the attacks against Shiites continued stating that, "They should know that the patience of our people will not last for a long time with these sectarian dirty crimes."

One Shiite cleric at Baghdad's Khadimiya mosque held up an AK-47 during his sermon and shouted, "How long can we remain silent? Terrorists are pampered in Iraq"

Meanwhile, the U.S. military announced the deaths of six U.S. soldiers killed yesterday bringing Thursday's death toll among U.S. service members to 11.

Two Task Force Baghdad soldiers died in a roadside bomb attack on their patrol while two U.S. Marines were killed in separate small-arms fire incidents in the former rebel-bastion city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad. Also, one U.S. Marine and one U.S. soldier, both assigned to the II MEF, were among the causalities in yesterday's massive suicide bombing outside a Ramadi police recruitment center.

In new violence Friday, a suicide car bomber killed one Iraqi police officer in Baghdad while AFP reports that authorities in the capital discovered the executed bodies of 10 people.