Baghdad has declared a new military campaign against Iraqi political parties

An al Qaeda-linked militant group that claimed responsibility for recent bombings in Baghdad has declared a new military campaign against Iraqi political parties, according to a group that monitors insurgents’ communications.The threat from Islamic State of Iraq was contained in a speech from the group’s leader, Omar al-Baghdadi, on an audio tape posted on jihadist forums on Thursday, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said.

ISI threatened voters before Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary election, warning that they risked death if they cast ballots and calling the election a farce aimed at cementing Shi’ite domination over Sunnis.It also claimed responsibility for bombings at three Baghdad hotels in January that killed at least 36 people, and attacks on government buildings in December that killed 112.

Sunni Islamist insurgents were blamed for rocket, mortar and other attacks that killed 39 people on election day, but 62 percent of Iraq’s registered voters turned out to cast ballots despite the violence and threats.A successful election is considered a major milestone for Iraq’s security forces and its fragile democracy as U.S. troops prepare to depart by the end of 2011. Washington launched its attack on Iraq on March 19, 2003.

“With grace and success from Allah, a coordinated military campaign was started in Baghdad and throughout Iraq, to break the idol of democracy and its resulting polytheist elections,” the ISI message said, according to a translation from SITE.

It said it had been able to “strike the security plan in the heart of Baghdad” and other cities on election day despite increased security efforts to protect voters.

The group cited as part of its campaign a series of pre-election attacks on the headquarters of political parties including the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the National Dialogue Front, the Iraqi Communist Party and others, SITE said.ISI is believed by intelligence analysts to have been created by al Qaeda in Iraq as a local umbrella group for insurgent organizations.

NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah

NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan  U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, sealing off escape routes and setting the stage for what is being described as the biggest offensive of the nine-year war. Taliban defenders repeatedly fired rockets and mortars at units poised in foxholes along the edge of the town, apparently trying to lure NATO forces into skirmishes before the big attack. “They’re trying to draw us in,” said Capt. Joshua Winfrey, 30, of Tulsa, Okla., commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines. Up to 1,000 militants are believed holed up in Marjah, a key Taliban logistics base and center of the lucrative opium poppy trade. But the biggest threats are likely to be the land mines and bombs hidden in the roads and fields of the farming community, 380 miles (610 kilometers) southwest of Kabul. The precise date for the attack has been kept secret. U.S. officials have signaled for weeks they planned to seize Marjah, a town of about 80,000 people in Helmand province and the biggest community in southern Afghanistan under Taliban control. NATO officials say the goal is to seize the town quickly and re-establish Afghan government authority, bringing public services in hopes of winning support of the townspeople once the Taliban are gone. Hundreds of Afghan soldiers were to join U.S. Marines in the attack to emphasize the Afghan role in the operation. A Taliban spokesman dismissed the significance of Marjah, saying the NATO operation was “more propaganda than military necessity.”

Nevertheless, the spokesman, Mohammed Yusuf, said in a dialogue on the Taliban Web site that the insurgents would strike the attackers with explosives and hit-and-run tactics, according to a summary by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant Internet traffic. In preparation for the offensive, a U.S.-Afghan force led by the U.S. Army’s 5th Stryker Brigade moved south from Lashkar Gah and linked up Thursday with Marines on the northern edge of Marjah, closing off a main Taliban escape route. Marines and Army soldiers fired colored smoke grenades to show each other that they were friendly forces. U.S. and Afghan forces have now finished their deployment along the main road in and out of Marjah, leaving the Taliban no way out except across bleak, open desert – where they could easily be spotted. The Army’s advance was slowed as U.S. and Afghan soldiers cleared the thicket of mines and bombs hidden in canals and along the roads and fought off harassment attacks along the way by small bands of insurgents. Two U.S. attack helicopters fired Hellfire missiles at a compound near Marjah from where insurgents had been firing at the advancing Americans. Marines along the edge of the town exchanged fire with insurgents. There were no reports of casualties.