Shiite, Sunni and U.S. forces cooperating

Shiite, Sunni and U.S. forces cooperating
By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, November 12, 2007


Al-JARA, Iraq — Most of the community leaders sitting with U.S. soldiers on Sheik Nori Zbar al-Jabouri’s front porch Thursday were Sunni, but some were Shiite.

That in itself is a small blessing for 3rd Infantry Division soldiers trying to eradicate violent Sunni and Shiite factions from land about 20 miles south Baghdad, east of the Tigris River.

U.S. soldiers are hoping the Shiite leaders can follow the Sunni Sheik Nori’s example: In Nori’s area, 362 “concerned citizens” are working side-by-side with a mainly Shiite Iraqi national police.

“Four months ago, they were fighting each other,” said Capt. Richard Thompson, commander of Company B, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade.

The citizens, police and U.S. soldiers have drastically cut attacks and roadside bombs in a roughly 13-square-mile area bordering the river and a major highway link to Baghdad during the past month, U.S. troops and local residents say.

In late July, soldiers met with four Shiite and eight Sunni sheiks at a police headquarters in al-Jara. The sheiks spent the first hour blaming each other for violence and the second hour blaming coalition forces, said Thompson, of West Palm Beach, Fla.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50210