Remember the supposedly pro-US Sahwa (Awakening) Movements, who were going to be decisive in helping defeat al-Qaeda in Iraq? Not only is the latter infiltrating their ranks, but the Sahwa may be responsible for these recent attacks.
“Six car bombs kill 34 across Baghdad,” by Aseel Kami for Reuters, April 6:
BAGHDAD, April 6 (Reuters) – Six car bombs exploded across Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 34 people and wounding scores, police said, after the arrests of Sunni Arab fighters raised tension in the Iraqi capital.
A blast at a popular market in the Shi’ite Muslim slum of Sadr City in east Baghdad killed at least 10 people and wounded 65. Another car bomb blew up next to a group of labourers queuing for work, killing six people and wounding 16.
Hours later, south Baghdad’s Um al-Maalif neighbourhood was shaken by two blasts in a market, killing 12 and wounding 25.
The latest attacks underscore the challenges Iraqi security forces face as U.S. combat troops prepare to withdraw by Aug. 31 2010, with all U.S. troops due to leave by the end of 2011.[…]
The attacks followed a week of arrests in Baghdad by Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government of Sunni Arab fighters known as Awakening Councils, or Majalis al-Sahwa in Arabic.[…]
The Sahwas first switched sides and joined with U.S. forces to battle Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in late 2006, manning checkpoints and conducting raids throughout the country.
The Iraqi government started taking control of them late last year, but mistrust runs deep. Some of the guards complain they have not been paid for two months, although Iraqi officials say that was an administrative glitch that has now been fixed.
Sheikh Hameed al-Hayyes, a founder of the Sahwa movement, said the bombings were unlikely to be the work of the guards…