Kidnappers of Sunni lawmaker demand withdrawal timeline, prisoner release

A group claiming to hold Sunni Iraqi parliamentarian Tayseer al-Mashhadani has issued demands (and a deadline to fulfill them) to the office of Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi. The group told authorities that they would kill her if the following requirements were not met within three days: timetable for withdrawing coalition troops; release of all detainees [unclear if this includes Sunnis]; and a halt to attacks on Shiite mosques.

Those demands appear to confirm initial suspicions that Tayseer was abducted by a Shia group, and the aims closely mirror the main priorities of nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Militia. The Mahdi Militia is a ragtag, relatively decentralized force, but it has a large number of well-armed members and is a formidable force in many urban areas, especially Baghdad. It is one of the two largest Shia militias in the country (the other being the SCIRI party's Badr Corps).

Almost exactly a month ago, I mentioned the dangers of Shia groups becoming impatient with the pace of their consolidation of power (especially to the extent they see the U.S. as holding them back). This is another significant and dangerous step down that road.