Saddam is left weaker after crushing revolt

PATRICK COCKBURN

Iraqi special forces have crushed a mutiny by an army battalion on the outskirts of Baghdad and its commander has committed suicide as his forces were overrun, according to news agency reports from Amman. There are few details of the uprising, but US intelligence sources confirmed yesterday that Iraqi military units exchanged fire near the radio transmitter at Abu Ghraib.

According to local sources, General Turki Ismail al-Dulaimi, the commander of the 1,200-strong 14th July Battalion, killed himself when his forces were wiped out as they marched on a prison where many of their fellow Dulaimi tribesmen are held.

A day after the first reports of the revolt - the most serious by far since the uprising after the Gulf war in 1991 - Iraqi dissident groups, including the Iraqi National Congress, said they could not confirm the incident. A reporter in Baghdad was told by an Information Ministry official: "You are free to meet the people and tour the area, including the radio transmitters where hostile propagandists say fighting is raging."

But a US State Department spokesman said "we can confirm that there was a mutiny by a small number of Republican Guard armoured troops in Abu Ghraib'' that "was apparently put down by other Republican Guard units". A Pentagon spokesman said the incident suggests "that Saddam Hussein is facing increasing pressure from groups that have been loyal to him in the past".

Laith Kubba, a leading Iraqi dissident based in London, said the significance of any conflict between the government of Saddam Hussein and the powerful Dulaimi tribe is that it "removes a significant segment of Saddam's support and narrows his power base". The Dulaimi are a large Sunni Muslim tribe who live in a swath of territory in north-west Iraq stretching from Ramadi and Al Fallujah, close to Baghdad, along the Euphrates up to Al Qaim near the Syrian border.

Many Dulaimi serve as officers in the army or the security services. In the past it has always been difficult for them to oppose the government, because they have received many benefits from the regime and if President Saddam fell they would suffer as his collaborators. The very top positions in Iraq are held by Saddam Hussein's relatives and clan members from Tikrit on the upper Tigris. The Dulaimi and other Sunni tribes form the next tier in the power structure.

They have been increasingly at odds with the regime since General Mohammed Mazlum al-Dulaimi was arrested and accused of plotting a coup last November. In mid-May he was executed and his mutilated body returned to his relatives in Ramadi, long known for its loyalty to Saddam Hussein. At his funeral on 18 May riots broke out.

Many Dulaimi were killed and others have since been arrested. The troubles led to a gun-battle between tribesmen and police last Tuesday which may have precipitated the mutiny. The Dulaimi appear to want to defend their tribal interests, not to overthrow the government.