Reuters: Iraq VP wants Shi'ite militia named terror group

Iraq VP wants Shi'ite militia named terror group
18 Feb 2007 16:24:11 GMT
Source: Reuters

DUBAI, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The United States should classify radical
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia as a "terrorist"
group, Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said in comments aired
on Sunday.

"What is expected from the U.S. administration, to avoid double
standards, is to classify the Mehdi Army and the militias that worked
under its umbrella and banner as terrorist militias and to apply
international standards against them," al-Hashemi, a Sunni, told
Al Jazeera television.

Deemed by the Pentagon to be the biggest threat to Iraq, the Mehdi
Army has kept a low profile, appearing on the streets without their
guns, since U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an offensive last week
to quell sectarian violence.

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"I urge the U.S. administration to issue this classification so that
the leaders of these militias would be pursued," said al-Hashemi.

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