Angered by Fatal Raid, Shiites Exit Unity Talks :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - ch

Angered by Fatal Raid, Shiites Exit Unity Talks :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - ch: "BAGHDAD — As coffins of shooting victims rolled past wailing mourners, Iraq's dominant Shiite Muslim political alliance Monday condemned the United States for a weekend raid that left at least 16 people dead in a Shiite neighborhood and said it was for now dropping out of U.S.-guided talks aimed at forming a unity government.

Shiite political leaders and U.S. military commanders gave wildly contradictory accounts of the Sunday evening raid in northeast Baghdad, evidence of a growing rift between the United States and the Shiite-led government that came to power after the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein.

The raid also widened a split between the Sunni Arab-led Defense Ministry, which oversees the Iraqi troops who took part in the operation, and the Shiite-dominated police force. Rivalry between the two security forces has fueled apprehension that the sectarian violence could drag them into a civil war."