Iraqi resistance on the rise, sheik says

BAGHDAD, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The Iraqi resistance will return to its previous strength as the Sons of Iraq paramilitary force transfers to an Iraq-controlled unit, a leading cleric said.

The Sons of Iraq emerged from the Sunni Awakening, or Sahwa, Councils in 2005 as a paramilitary force funded by the U.S. military to tackle al-Qaida fighters. The Iraqi government began assuming responsibility over the group in October.

Sheik Harith Sulayman al-Dari, the secretary-general of the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq, figured the Iraqi resistance would return to full strength in the coming months as Baghdad has sidelined a large portion of the group.

"Al-Sahwa Councils helped the occupation, gave a lot of things and contributed to obstruct the resistance by 50 percent to 60 percent," he said in a formal statement. "But eventually the fighters were ended and abandoned by the U.S. occupation army, and neglected by the government in Iraq."

On the security situation in Iraq, however, Dari said he did not predict a return to 2006 levels of conflict between Sunnis and Shiites that threatened to push Iraq into civil war. Instead, he blamed "political fighting" as the underlying factor to instability in the country.

Speaking on the negotiations surrounding the Status of Forces Agreement between Washington and Baghdad, which now seem at a standstill, the secretary-general said the arrangement goes beyond conventional measures and ties Washington inextricably to Iraqi affairs.