We're fighting for survival, says Mahdi army commander (UPDATED)

A senior commander in the Mahdi army said today the militia was fighting a battle for survival in Basra against a rival Shia faction seeking to obliterate it ahead of September elections.

Fighting broke out in Basra on Tuesday when Iraqi government forces launched an offensive against Shia militia in the city. Overnight, US jets carried out air strikes in support of Iraqi forces in at least two locations.

Shiek Ali al-Sauidi, a prominent member of the Moqtada al-Sadr-led movement in Basra, said his men were being targeted not by the Iraqi government but by government militias loyal to the rival Supreme Islamic Council faction.

"They are a executing a very well drawn plan. They are trying to exterminate the Sadrists and cut and isolate the movement before the September local elections," he said in a telephone interview with the Guardian.

Perhaps they should join RW in a bonghit.

Iraqi Shia Cleric Moqtada Sadr Orders Fighters Off Streets

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - In a surprise move Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr on Sunday ordered his fighters off the streets of Basra and other cities in Iraq.

Sadr said in a statement that his movement wanted the Iraqi people to stop the bloodshed and for Iraq to maintain its independence and stability. He had previously defied the Iraqi government's deadline to turn weapons in for cash.

I think Dick Morris has been commenting on this blog.