Sadrists threaten Kurds' influence

Baghdad: The Kurds, the strongest US ally in Iraq and a leading political kingmaker, appear likely to lose some of their influence to a stridently anti-American group that did surprisingly well in this month's parliamentary elections.

Fiery cleric Moqtada Al Sadr's movement — whose militiamen have battled the Americans and were blamed for some of the worst sectarian violence of recent years — is positioned to take a pivotal role in the next parliament. The Shiite group, which had largely been driven underground by US and Iraqi forces, has made a remarkable comeback by developing a sophisticated political organisation in addition to its armed wing.

Meanwhile, the staunchly pro-American Kurdistan Alliance has been weakened by a fracturing of the Kurdish electorate, according to a preliminary count of Iraq's March 7 vote. Although the Kurds had been the most important kingmaker in past governments, they probably will share that role with the Sadrists as the two leading vote-getters — Ayad Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc and Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's State of Law group — struggle to build a coalition. "The Sadrists had political and military power that surpassed that of the government, but they misused it and ended up in jails and in exile," said political analyst Ebrahim Al Sumaidaie. "Now, they have mastered their political power. They will find that the political game will give them more power and a wider role than their guns."

In 2006, the Sadrists played a part in choosing Maliki, a Shiite, as prime minister. Two years later, Maliki relented to US pressure and deployed the Iraqi military to target the Sadrist militia, the Mahdi Army. But the Sadrists regrouped, shifting their focus from armed struggle to political strategising.

Although they nominated only 52 candidates out of the more than 6,000, they were shrewd in deciding which seats to target. As a result, they are expected to win as many as 40 seats in the next parliament.

Gunmen kill soldiers

Police and army officials say gunmen riding in two cars shot dead five Iraqi soldiers at a checkpoint in the suburbs of Baghdad.

Authorities say that the soldiers were manning a checkpoint in Radwaniya, a Sunni suburb near the airport, when they were attacked early yesterday.

Iraqi forces arrested 17 suspects in the area.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.