Sadr Movement Blames US for Unrests in Iraq

A spokesman for the Sadr Movement took the US responsible for the recent deadly bombing and unrests in Iraq, and repeated its demand for a full pullout of the US troops from the country by the end of 2011.
“The US is seeking to make Iraq insecure though its elements in the country,” Salah al-Abidi told FNA on Monday, adding that the US is guiding and sponsoring terrorist attacks to create a rift among the Shiite and Sunni Muslims in Iraq to attain its occupation goals in the country.

He underlined the necessity for the pullout of the US forces from Iraq according to the agreed timeline, and said, “Based on the security agreement (between Baghdad and Washington) they should leave Iraq’s soil by the end of 2011.”

The US military agreement signed between Baghdad and Washington at the end of November 2008 stipulates the withdrawal of all US troops from Iraq by December 31, 2011 as a deadline.

Earlier, Iraqi Government Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh categorically denied speculations that Baghdad is going to strike a deal with Washington to extend the presence of the US troops in Iraq beyond the 2011 deadline.

“The report is a sheer lie since no action has been taken in this regard and the government of Iraq hasn’t singed such a deal with the US,” Dabbagh told FNA in Baghdad.

The US has pressed senior Iraqi officials to revise their decision on the US pullout and demand Washington to keep its troops in the country beyond their scheduled departure in the yearend.

Iraqi state officials as well as religious and political figures have all condemned the US attempts for extending the mission of its troops in the country.