25 suspected Soldiers of Heaven members detained in Babel.Byline: SH (S) BABEL / Aswat al-Iraq: Police forces on Tuesday arrested 25 suspected Soldiers of Heaven The Soldiers of Heaven or Jund al-Samaa (Arabic: جند السماء) was an armed Iraqi Shi'a religious sect, according to the reports. gunmen during a security raid in east of Hilla, a security source said. "Police forces waged a security operation, based on a tip-off, targeting Soldiers of Heaven hideouts in al-Kawthar district in east of Hilla, where they arrested 25 suspected gunmen," the source told Aswat al-Iraq. He did not give more details. Soldiers of Heaven, or Jund al-Samaa in Arabic, is a Shiite armed group led by a man who claimed to be the al-Mahdi al-Muntazhar (Awaited Mahdi), the Messiah-like 12th holiest figure for Shiites, was accused of planning to kill all religious clerics in Najaf during the celebrations of Ashuraa, or 10th of Muharram in the hegira Hegira or Hejira (both: hĭjī`rə, hĕj`ərə) [Ar.,=Hijra=breaking off of relations], the departure of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca in Sept., 622. calendar, commemorating com·mem·o·rate tr.v. com·mem·o·rat·ed, com·mem·o·rat·ing, com·mem·o·rates 1. To honor the memory of with a ceremony. See Synonyms at observe. 2. To serve as a memorial to. the slaughter of Imam al-Hussein Ibn Ali, the Prophet prophet [Gr.,=foreteller], a religious leader and spokesperson, particularly used in the Bible. The prophets emitted messages from the divine through inspired speech, the interpretation of omens and dreams, and the casting of lots and divination. Muhammad's grandson, in the battle of Taf in Karbala in the hegira year 61 (680 in the Gregorian calendar Gregorian calendar Solar dating system now in general use. It was proclaimed in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a reform of the Julian calendar. By the Julian reckoning, the solar year comprised 365¹⁄₄ days. ). The group's plans, which coincided with the celebrations of Ashuraa, envisaged having Najaf as a springboard to control other Iraqi cities. Iraqi authorities had said that the leader of the Soldiers of Heaven claimed that he was the Awaited Mahdi, believed by the Shiites to be the duodecimal du·o·dec·i·mal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or based on the number 12: the duodecimal number system. 2. Of or relating to twelfths. n. A twelfth. imam. In late January 2007, Iraqi and U.S. forces launched a wide-scale security operation against the group members in their stronghold in al-Zarga area, 13 km northeast of Najaf, 110 km southwest of Baghdad , killing more than 300 militants, including the group leader, and capturing hundreds others. Babel, a Shiite province that lies 100 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has an area of 6,468 square kilometers (2,497.3 sq mi), with an estimated population of 1,385,783 people in 2003. The provincial capital Noun 1. provincial capital - the capital city of a province capital - a seat of government city, metropolis, urban center - a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts; "Ancient Troy was a great city" is the town of al-Hilla. The ancient ruins of Babylon (Babil, after which the region is named) are also in the province. Copyright [c] 2008 Aswat al-Iraq Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion