CNN–update: AP– is reporting that Baghdad’s Green Zone was hit by as many as 35 rockets this evening–3 dead, 18 wounded. And while the Green Zone is mortared most nights, this seems an escalation by insurgents who, in this case, are NOT Al Qaeda, but most likely members of Muqtada Sadr’s Jaish al-Mahdi (JAM) or, even more likely, members of the Iranian supported JAM Special Groups, who may operate outside Sadr’s control.
US military intel sources in Baghdad told me a few weeks ago that these mortar attacks are often in response to specific events–like raids on JAM cells or members–but I wonder, in this case, if the attacks have anything to do with the growing split between Sadr and Prime Minister Maliki?
