By Bassem Mroue
Baghdad - The messianic Shi'a cult that battled US and Iraqi forces last weekend had been known to authorities for two years and was believed to have no links to other Shi'a groups, an interior ministry official said on Wednesday.
Hundreds of cultists were killed, as well as two Americans and 11 Iraqi troopers, in the day-long fight that ended Monday near Najaf. Officials said the cultists planned attacks during Tuesday's Ashoura commemoration.
But so much conflicting information has been released that significant details - including the identity of the leader and the group's intentions - remain murky. Official accounts have raised numerous questions.
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On Wednesday, Major General Hussein Kamal, the interior ministry's undersecretary for security, told The Associated Press that authorities had been aware of the cult - the "Soldiers of Heaven" - for about two years but did not consider them a threat until authorities received a tip about the group's plans to launch attacks.
"They were a group by themselves and their leader used to claim to be a messenger of the Hidden Imam," Kamal said. The "Hidden Imam" is a descendant of Islam's Prophet Muhammad who disappeared as a child in the 9th century and Shiites believe that he will return one day to bring justice to each.
"They started surfacing two years ago as a political movement in southern Iraq and gained followers," Kamal said. "In the end they carried arms against the state."
Confusion continued on Wednesday about who the gunmen were and how they managed to mount such a ferocious defence.
Some Shiite clerics linked them to anti-American Shiite cleric Ahmed al-Hassani. But his office issued a statement denying any link to the group, saying such claims aim to harm the cleric's image. Some officials had identified the leader as Diya Abdul-Zahra Kadhim, who used the nickname Ali bin Ali bin Abi Taleb.
In Babil province, police commander Major General Qais al-Maamouri identified the cult's leader as Ahmed Ismail Qatea, 37, who used to live in the southern city of Basra.
It was unclear which of the names, if any, was the real one - or even whether the various names were used by the same person.
"His supporters at the base (near Najaf) were between 1 300 to 1 500 members and he claims to be one of the agents of Hidden Imam and also calls himself Ahmad al-Yamani," al-Maamouri said. He added that among the goals of the group was to destroy the Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, one of the holiest sites for Shi'a Muslims.
The Babylon police chief said the cult does not have a spiritual leader. Instead, Qatea himself claimed to be the spiritual leader.
Government spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh is scheduled to give a news conference on Thursday about the fighting near Najaf. - Sapa-AP
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