Shiite Militia Seizes Control of Iraqi Town, Slowing ISIS Drive Toward Baghdad
A Shiite militia seized control of an Iraqi town for the first time on Saturday, blunting the advance toward Baghdad of radical Sunni fighters in a sign that the widespread mobilization of paramilitary forces may be starting to have an impact.
The first overtly sectarian battle of the new war unfolding for control of Iraq came as thousands of heavily armed Shiites paraded defiantly through the streets of Baghdad, responding to a call to arms from their most revered cleric.
Men young and old piled into taxis, trucks, police vehicles and minibuses and drove noisily through the streets, honking horns and waving an assortment of weapons including rocket-propelled grenades, high-powered sniper rifles, Kalashnikov assault rifles and handguns.
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