U.S. troop action meritless, Sadrist says

BAGHDAD, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- An Iraqi lawmaker with the Sadrist Movement Thursday said attacks on Sadr loyalists by American forces were due to the group's anti-occupation stance.

Ahmed al-Massoudi blamed U.S. forces for creating an "environment of fear" in many Baghdad districts during recent raids in the area, Voices of Iraq reported.

"The raids conducted by U.S. troops against loyalists of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr are a part of a pressuring operation against the Sadrist movement because of its anti-U.S. stances," he said.

Massoudi said U.S. forces had closed off several districts in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City and seized the identification papers of several Sadr loyalists for later detention.

He defended the anti-American stance of the group as a legitimate opposition, saying the Sadrists would use all legal and constitutional methods to defend against what he said were "inhuman measures" used by coalition forces.

The Sadrist Movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr is opposed to both the U.S. occupation of Iraq and the long-term security arrangement currently in negotiations to replace the U.N. mandate for Iraq, which expires in December.