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| We will defend our lands, pledge Shias outraged at mass killings in Iraq | We will defend our lands, pledge Shias outraged at mass killings in Iraq |
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| The abduction of 2,000 soldiers by the extremist group Isis and the killing of 30 over the weekend has exploded tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shia sects. | The abduction of 2,000 soldiers by the extremist group Isis and the killing of 30 over the weekend has exploded tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shia sects. |
| Photographs and videos released by the Sunni militant group, linked to al-Qaida, show some of the prisoners being killed, apparently in the desert near Tikrit, where they were seized on Tuesday. Some were lying face down with their hands tied. A separate group were forced to sit up while they were taunted by their captors, one of whom spoke Arabic with an accent common to Tunisia or Algeria. | Photographs and videos released by the Sunni militant group, linked to al-Qaida, show some of the prisoners being killed, apparently in the desert near Tikrit, where they were seized on Tuesday. Some were lying face down with their hands tied. A separate group were forced to sit up while they were taunted by their captors, one of whom spoke Arabic with an accent common to Tunisia or Algeria. |
| The images have stirred outrage in Baghdad – where the Shia militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq has made forays into Sunni areas – and prompted reprisals. Two residents of the largely Sunni west Baghdad neighbourhood of Ghazaliyah say nine locals were abducted by the group on Saturday. Another two were reportedly killed. | The images have stirred outrage in Baghdad – where the Shia militant group Asaib Ahl al-Haq has made forays into Sunni areas – and prompted reprisals. Two residents of the largely Sunni west Baghdad neighbourhood of Ghazaliyah say nine locals were abducted by the group on Saturday. Another two were reportedly killed. |
| Isis has reportedly summoned a sheikh to give a religious ruling on what to do with the Shia captives, whom it has been unable to provide with regular food, water, or sanitation. They are believed to be being held in a warehouse near Tikrit's military hospital. | Isis has reportedly summoned a sheikh to give a religious ruling on what to do with the Shia captives, whom it has been unable to provide with regular food, water, or sanitation. They are believed to be being held in a warehouse near Tikrit's military hospital. |
| "They let 1,500 go on the first day," said Khaled al-Jabouri, a tribal leader from Tikrit. "We will defend our lands and we will fight them. They are using the rest [of the captives] as leverage." | |
| The Ghazaliyah residents said they believed Asaib Ahl al-Haq was trying to make its presence felt in Sunni areas, but was not conducting mass arrests. | The Ghazaliyah residents said they believed Asaib Ahl al-Haq was trying to make its presence felt in Sunni areas, but was not conducting mass arrests. |
| "They are trying to send a message," said Abu Osma, 26. But, for now, the Iraqi security forces are still in place and attempting to protect locals. | "They are trying to send a message," said Abu Osma, 26. But, for now, the Iraqi security forces are still in place and attempting to protect locals. |
| Asaib Ahl al-Haq has also approached some Sunni leaders and asked them to report signs of trouble. | Asaib Ahl al-Haq has also approached some Sunni leaders and asked them to report signs of trouble. |
| Shia militias openly took to the streets in the eastern Baghdad suburbs of Karrada and Arasat on Sunday night, patrolling alleys and playing Shia hymns on loudspeakers. | |
| Residents in the capital on both sides of the sectarian divide fear a return to the violence that ravaged the country in 2006. | |
| International observers are also concerned. Lindsey Graham, a US Republican senator, said the US should "sit down and talk" with Iran over the crisis in Iraq. Graham, a leading foreign policy hawk, also attacked President Barack Obama for what he said was his "delusional and detached" response to the crisis. | International observers are also concerned. Lindsey Graham, a US Republican senator, said the US should "sit down and talk" with Iran over the crisis in Iraq. Graham, a leading foreign policy hawk, also attacked President Barack Obama for what he said was his "delusional and detached" response to the crisis. |
| The US has sent an aircraft carrier to the Gulf, raising the possibility of imminent airstrikes, while on Saturday Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, signalled an alignment of interests. | |
| "If we see that the United States takes action against terrorist groups in Iraq, then one can think about it," he told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse. | "If we see that the United States takes action against terrorist groups in Iraq, then one can think about it," he told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse. |
| Graham's pronouncement, made on CNN's State of the Nation, represented a volte face from previous calls for authorisation to declare war on Iran. | Graham's pronouncement, made on CNN's State of the Nation, represented a volte face from previous calls for authorisation to declare war on Iran. |
| "If Baghdad falls, if the central government falls, a disaster awaits us of monumental proportions," he said, and suggested the US should send David Petraeus, the former army general who was a director of the CIA, and Ryan Crocker, a former ambassador to Iraq, to form a new government. | |
| Iraqi officials told the Guardian on Saturday that Iran had sent 2,000 advance troops across the border. | Iraqi officials told the Guardian on Saturday that Iran had sent 2,000 advance troops across the border. |
| General Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds force, is coordinating the defence of Baghdad – battalions suspected by the US of having carried out attacks on US troops during the Iraq war. | General Qassem Suleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds force, is coordinating the defence of Baghdad – battalions suspected by the US of having carried out attacks on US troops during the Iraq war. |
| "Why did we deal with Stalin?" Graham asked. "Because he's not as bad as Hitler. The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure that Baghdad doesn't fall. We need to co-ordinate with the Iranians and the Turks need to get into the game. | "Why did we deal with Stalin?" Graham asked. "Because he's not as bad as Hitler. The Iranians can provide some assets to make sure that Baghdad doesn't fall. We need to co-ordinate with the Iranians and the Turks need to get into the game. |
| "We should have discussions with Iran to make sure they don't use this as an opportunity to seize control of parts of Iraq. They're in this, we need to put a red line with Iran." | "We should have discussions with Iran to make sure they don't use this as an opportunity to seize control of parts of Iraq. They're in this, we need to put a red line with Iran." |
| "The economic chaos to the world is going to be far greater than anything we spend on saving Iraq. This is another 9/11 in the making."Mike McCaul, the Republican chair of the House homeland security committee, speaking on ABC news, blamed the situation in Iraq on "the president's inability to negotiate a status of forces agreement" at the end of the Iraq war. He added: "I talked to [former] ambassador Crocker yesterday and he said that this is the greatest threat, national security threat, since 9/11. | "The economic chaos to the world is going to be far greater than anything we spend on saving Iraq. This is another 9/11 in the making."Mike McCaul, the Republican chair of the House homeland security committee, speaking on ABC news, blamed the situation in Iraq on "the president's inability to negotiate a status of forces agreement" at the end of the Iraq war. He added: "I talked to [former] ambassador Crocker yesterday and he said that this is the greatest threat, national security threat, since 9/11. |
| "This al-Qaida faction, Isis in Syria and now in Iraq, is so extreme, that Ayman al-Zawahiri and core al-Qaida have denounced them. That's how dangerous they are. | "This al-Qaida faction, Isis in Syria and now in Iraq, is so extreme, that Ayman al-Zawahiri and core al-Qaida have denounced them. That's how dangerous they are. |
| "This is not some down the road prospect. I would argue that not only is the threat great in Iraq and Syria but so [is it] to the homeland, because we have a lot of individuals over there with legal travel documents that are trained." | "This is not some down the road prospect. I would argue that not only is the threat great in Iraq and Syria but so [is it] to the homeland, because we have a lot of individuals over there with legal travel documents that are trained." |