KARBALA: Iraqi army backed by civilian volunteers fought pitched battles Thursday in the holy city of Karbala to prevent a bid by a radical Shia cleric from occupying the holy shrines of Imam Hussain and Abol Fazl Abbas.
The clashes erupted when police and army personnel tried to arrest Sheikh Mahmoud al-Hassani Sarkhi around midnight Tuesday in the holy city.
Sarkhi and his armed followers have clashed in the past with U.S. forces, Iraqi security forces and supporters of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered Shiite authority in Iraq.
Security forces said they went to arrest Sarkhi after his supporters blocked roads and manned checkpoints around his district in the shrine city.
Sarkhi published a letter on his website earlier this week criticizing Sistanis decree for Iraqis to fight alongside the security forces against Takfiri militants.
Sistani issued his decree after the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) swept across parts of northern and western Iraq. The group, which rules swaths of territory in an arc from Aleppo in Syria to near the western edge of Baghdad in Iraq, has declared a caliphate to rule over the worlds Muslims.
Police and troops reinforced by five helicopter gunships surrounded the house but were prevented from entering by Sarkhis armed followers, the sources said, adding that five police officers and about 40 of Sarkhis supporters were killed.
The sources said that when security forces managed to break into the house after six hours of clashes, they found Sarkhi had escaped during the battle. Sarkhis supporters posted on the sheikhs website a picture of an Iraqi military Humvee vehicle they said they had destroyed in the battle.
Sarkhi has been at odds with top Shia clergy, including Grand Ayatollah Sistani, eversince the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003 but he remained on the fringes overshadowed by the massive following clergy in Najaf wield among the majority of Iraqis.
Against All Foreigners
Sarkhi stands strongly opposed to Iranian influence in Iraq, and has criticized Iranian-backed political groups operating in Iraq, such as the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the Al-Da’wah Party, which is led by Prime Minister al-Maliki.
Sarkhi believes himself to be the supreme religious authority, above all other ayatollahs, including al-Sistani and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Meanwhile, his detractors have questioned the 40-year-old cleric’s elevated status of ayatollah, and have balked at his delusions of grandeur. Indeed, as a Lebanese cleric pointed out in June, al-Hasani has crossed the line, going so far as to claim he has shared tea with the revered hidden imam, al-Mahdi.
Back on earth, Sarkhi has even clashed with his onetime ally Muqtada al-Sadr, the son of his deceased former teacher Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr. Al-Hasani’s relationship with the younger al-Sadr is severely strained now.
Drawing Ire Of Police, Religious Authority
Sarkhis most recent clash with the government followed his demands for a greater role for him and his supporters in Karbala. The cleric’s supporters have held several demonstrations in the holy city in recent months, including at least two in June, demanding an end to Iranian interference over Iraq’s holy shrines and the closure of the Iranian Consulate in the city.
Earlier this month, Sarkhi demanded participation in daily and Friday Prayer sermons and in the caretaking activities of the Imam Husayn Shrine.
Since 2003, a committee appointed by Ayatollah al-Sistani has been responsible for the assignment of shrine duties and the prayer leadership in the holy city. The committee is responsible for security for the shrines and security teams are reportedly staffed by people with diverse political leanings.
Fringe Player
While Sarkhi’s profile has certainly been elevated in recent months following his campaign to eliminate Iranian influence in Iraq, the cleric currently poses no real threat.
Moreover, al-Hasani’s strained relations with nearly every Shi’ite political party have elicited more criticism than respect, and further delegitimized his cause in several cities, including Al-Basrah, where he has clashed with security services on several occasions.
Baghdad is keenly aware of the difficulty of trying to contain sectarian violence, and will remember the trouble caused by armed followers of another Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who fought both American and Iraqi troops in the years following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Amer al-Khozaei, head of the National Reconciliation Committee, one of the institutions called upon to ease tensions, said his organisation was talking to both sides and trying to find a solution.
Tememi, meanwhile, acknowledged that it was proving difficult to make headway.
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