SHIITE MILITIA IN BASRA:

First Basra, Then Baghdad (Debka, 3/25/2003)

Franks counteracted by throwing into the arena a secret weapon, a 3,000-man opposition Shiite militia organized by Majid al-Khoei, the 34-year old son of Ayatollah Khoei, the legendary spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shiites. The militia, trained and funded by the US war command, waited in Qatar for the signal to go into action.

Monday night, March 25, the Shiite militiamen reached the southern outskirts of Basra ...

This sounds like a plausible explanation for the Shiite "uprising."

BUT THE BRITS ARE MUM:

Iraqis shoot into crowd (International Herald Tribune, 3/26/2003)

Major General Peter Wall, the second in command of British troops, confirmed the reports but said the situation was not yet fully understood.

"I'm confirming that there are events in Basra," Wall said. "We don't know what has spurred them, we don't know the scale, we don't know the scope of it. We don't know where it will take us."

Posted by Paul Jaminet at March 25, 2003 7:11 PM