A shadowy Shiite militant group in the southern Iraqi city of Basra warned that it will kill all those working with British troops controlling the region.
“We will kill everyone working with British troops including contractors, interpreters and others,” said a statement from the Abu al-Abbas Islamic group received by AFP. It was not immediately clear if the group had any direct links with the Mehdi Army militia of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr which is clashing with US and Iraqi forces in Najaf further north. Local deputy governor for administrative affairs Salam al-Maliky, a staunch Sadr supporter, warned late Wednesday to transform Basra into “another Najaf” if US troops did not end their assault on the holy city. Full Story
