‘Sons of Iraq’ face weakened power

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Iraqi security forces walk the site of a bombing in Ramadi on Wednesday. A pair of suicide bombers killed 24 people in Ramadi and badly injured the governor of Anbar province, where the alliance between Sunni tribes and the U.S. military first took hold.


‘Sons of Iraq’ face weakened power
By Michael Gisick, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, January 3, 2010

BAGHDAD — The killing of several members of the U.S.-allied Sunni militias known as “Sons of Iraq” has underscored the increasing weakness of groups widely credited with helping turn the tide of the Iraq war.

About a dozen members of the groups have been killed in the rural areas south of Baghdad in recent weeks, U.S. military officials say. Similar attacks have occurred elsewhere, including the execution-style killing of five SOI members north of Baghdad on Tuesday.

The attacks come amid growing signs that the Sunni insurgency is seeking to reassert itself ahead of March elections. On Wednesday, a pair of suicide bombers killed 24 people in Ramadi and badly injured the governor of Anbar province, where the alliance between Sunni tribes and the U.S. military first took hold.

In some cases, U.S. officials south of Baghdad say, the killings amount to a settling of scores dating from the U.S. troop “surge” in 2007 and 2008, when most Sunni tribes in the area turned against insurgent groups such as al-Qaida and allied with the United States.

“We’re seeing the combination of us thinning out, the government of Iraq offering them no jobs or bad jobs, and the release of some former (al-Qaida) elements from detention,” said one U.S. staff officer, who asked not to be identified so he could freely discuss intelligence. “It’s leading to a perception that the SOI are increasingly vulnerable and lack support, and that’s leading to a lot of retribution.”


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66989