Shi'te militias bite back

[Watser?]

Saturday was one of the worst days for US troops in Iraq in terms of numbers of soldiers killed:

At least 20 American service members were killed in military operations Saturday in the deadliest day for U.S. forces in two years, including 13 who died in a helicopter crash and five slain in an attack by militia fighters in the holy city of Karbala, military officials said.

Now the helicopter going down is probably just an accident, it is not the first thing this happened. But FIVE soldiers killed by militiamen in Karbala? Karbala is very definitely Shi'ite territory. This might be only the start of a new Shi'ite insurgency, which was only to be expected really. Declare the militias to be your enemy and they start behaving like one.
It might just have been a fluke though, the Mahdi militia seems to be lying low:

The decision by al-Sadr to lower his force's profile in Baghdad will likely cut violence in the city and allow American forces to show quick results from their beefed up presence. But it is also unlikely in the long term to change the balance of power here. Mahdi Army militiamen say that while they remain undercover now, they are simply waiting for the security plan to end.
"If the Mahdi Army is attacked, they will defend themselves," said Sheikh Abdul Razzaq al-Nidawi, a senior al-Sadr official in Najaf. "American troops are the enemy troops . . . if the Americans want armed resistance, we are ready, but we will work hard not to get involved in an armed opposition and we will work hard to endure the pressure even if we make sacrifices to keep our people and country safe."

Oh and a British soldier was killed in Basra Saturday. Unfortunately this is not a new phenomenon though, Shi'ite militias in Basra have started attacking the British a long time ago.

[California Tanker]

Originally Posted by Watser?

The decision by al-Sadr to lower his force's profile in Baghdad will likely cut violence in the city and allow American forces to show quick results from their beefed up presence. But it is also unlikely in the long term to change the balance of power here. Mahdi Army militiamen say that while they remain undercover now, they are simply waiting for the security plan to end.

Article is a little outdated already. Pretty much the day after the new plan was announced, a bunch of raids were carried out and Mahdi commanders detained. Presumably this is part of the renewed 'no militias allowed' policy. Don't know if any Badr raids were carried out.

NTM

[Watser?]

It is an old article, yes. I still think the Sadrists plan to sit out the so-called surge, I think it is likely this is a rogue group acting on their own.
I wouldn't be surprised if this will happen again though, especially since they will see this as a big success.

[Watser?]

Ow...

It turns out the attackers might have been Sunni insurgents after all:

Other Iraqi officials said that the clues pointed to extremist Sunni Arab groups based about 25 miles north of Karbala in Babil Province.

NYTimes

It seems they used disguises to get through checkpoints in the city of Karbala.

New details also emerged about clashes on Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, which left five Americans dead. Lt. Col. Scott R. Bleichwehl, an American military spokesman, said the gunmen who stormed the provincial governor’s office during a meeting between American and local officials were wearing what appeared to be American military uniforms in an effort to impersonate United States soldiers.

The sophisticated attack hinted at what could be a new threat for American troops as they start a fresh security plan centered on small bases in Baghdad’s bloodiest neighborhoods, where troops will live and work with Iraqi forces. One of the American military’s greatest concerns, military officials have said, is that troops will be vulnerable to attack from killers who appear to be colleagues.

It is not uncommon for gunmen to impersonate Iraqi security forces, but this appears to be the first time that attackers have portrayed themselves as Americans.