U.S.: Radical cleric al-Sadr in Iran
POSTED: 7:44 p.m. EST, February 13, 2007
Story Highlights• NEW: Administration officials say al-Sadr in Iran
• Iraq to close borders with Syria and Iran for 72 hours
• U.S. helicopter likely shot down, Marine Corps says
• Suicide truck bombing kills 16, wounds 40 in Baghdad
Adjust font size:
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq plans to close its borders with Iran and Syria for 72 hours in an attempt to secure the capital, the Iraqi commander in charge of Baghdad's security plan announced Tuesday.
Lt. Gen. Abboud Qanbar, speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, spelled out the details of the security crackdown in a televised address Tuesday.
As details of the border closure with Syria became public, senior Bush administration officials were saying radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been in Iran for the past two or three weeks.
Iraqi sources have not confirmed Sadr's departure, and a source close to the cleric told CNN that his presence in Iran is a "rumor."
As recently as Thursday, Sadr's office told CNN the cleric was in Najaf.
The U.S. officials said they did not know why Sadr had departed Iraq for Iran or how long he might stay. The officials suggested his departure was tied to the increase of American troops ordered by President Bush and that it could be a sign that he was in fear for his life.
Whatever the reason, it was not clear what effect Sadr's absence -- if he is, in fact, in Iran -- would have on his Mehdi Army.
As part of the security clampdown closing the Syrian border, the curfew in Baghdad will be extended and Iraqi forces plan to suspend civilian licenses for weapons and ammunition.
Qanbar's announcement warned citizens they will be subject to "interrogating, searching and detaining people when necessary and in accordance with the law."
The security plan covers 10 districts in Baghdad.
Some observers have predicted that followers of al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia -- which has been blamed for a large part of the sectarian violence in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq -- would be overlooked, because the al-Sadr movement has backed al-Maliki, who is also a Shiite.
Qanbar did not say when the borders would close, but a government official said it was expected within two days, The Associated Press reported.
During the closures, Iraqi officials will install improved security equipment at checkpoints, including upgraded bomb detection devices, an Iraqi official told CNN.
Helicopter likely shot down
The U.S. Marine Corps now believes an American helicopter that crashed in Iraq last week was most likely shot down by insurgents, a senior officer told CNN Tuesday.
The Marines had said that the CH-46 helicopter went down because of mechanical failure, but they changed their minds after reviewing a "very convincing" video posted on the Web by insurgents, the Marine officer said.
The 2 minute, 31 second video shows the twin-rotor helicopter being struck by a projectile. Smoke bursts from the helicopter, which then speeds out of control toward land. Eventually the image of the craft morphs into a smoke-filled streak and crashes. (Watch the helicopter spew smoke and flames )
The video was released by the Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella militant group that includes al Qaeda in Iraq, and produced by Al Furqan Media, an insurgent operation.
The Marines are relying on the insurgent video because the wreckage of helicopter was damaged by a fire on the ground. Marines who came along shortly after the crash destroyed the rest of the chopper so insurgents would not be able to get their hands on it. At the time, the Marines believed mechanical failure was the cause.
All seven people on board were killed in the February 7 crash. The helicopter was carrying medical supplies.
Six helicopters -- four military and two operated by civilian contractors --have been involved in crashes in Iraq in the past three weeks. Five of six were the result of enemy fire, the U.S. military has concluded.
Suicide bomb kills 16
A suicide bomber detonated a powerful truck bomb outside a Ministry of Trade food warehouse in northwestern Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people and wounding 40 others, an Interior Ministry official said.
The attack took place around 10 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) in the capital's Iskan district, a predominantly Shiite area of town.
Police also found a booby-trapped ambulance about 500 yards away, but they were able to defuse all of the explosives, the AP reported.
Another car bomb exploded outside a bakery in southeastern Baghdad hours later. Four people were killed and several others were wounded, a Baghdad police official said.
Tuesday's violence comes a day after five explosions ripped through central Baghdad, killing at least 90 people and wounding more than 190 others.
Iraq's Interior Ministry accused al Qaeda in Iraq of responsibility for the deadliest of Monday's attacks and detained three people, including two foreigners and an Iraqi.
Monday's deadly bombings exploded amid memorials marking last year's attack on a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra.
The February 22, 2006, bombing is blamed for sparking sectarian violence between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. It has been a year since the attack, according to the Islamic calendar.
