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| On the Road to Samarra, Glimpses of Iraq’s New Fractured Reality | On the Road to Samarra, Glimpses of Iraq’s New Fractured Reality |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| SAMARRA, Iraq — About 20 miles beyond the northern gates of Baghdad, on the way to the embattled city of Samarra, site of one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines, the road empties out as if some invisible barrier has been passed. | SAMARRA, Iraq — About 20 miles beyond the northern gates of Baghdad, on the way to the embattled city of Samarra, site of one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines, the road empties out as if some invisible barrier has been passed. |
| From this point on boundaries are constantly shifting, with the Iraqi government’s control extending only a little beyond the side of the road, and sometimes not even there. | From this point on boundaries are constantly shifting, with the Iraqi government’s control extending only a little beyond the side of the road, and sometimes not even there. |
| The 75-mile drive from Baghdad to Samarra plunges the traveler into Iraq’s precarious new reality. It is a world of Shiite militias, where many of the men carrying arms on behalf of the government have only the most tenuous ties to the Iraqi security forces. And it is a world where Sunni militants, who advanced to within 50 miles of Baghdad in their initial burst last month before their drive stalled, often are no more than a mile or so away. | The 75-mile drive from Baghdad to Samarra plunges the traveler into Iraq’s precarious new reality. It is a world of Shiite militias, where many of the men carrying arms on behalf of the government have only the most tenuous ties to the Iraqi security forces. And it is a world where Sunni militants, who advanced to within 50 miles of Baghdad in their initial burst last month before their drive stalled, often are no more than a mile or so away. |
| Travelers must read signs that would be invisible to a newcomer: Flags and uniforms signal safety or danger. | |
| “You are entering a hot zone,” said a gunman at a checkpoint near the town of Balad, about 25 miles south of Samarra. He was wearing cargo pants, a T-shirt, a federal police hat and an ammunition vest. There was no way to tell whom he worked for, but a yellow flag with green printing waved from a pickup truck parked nearby. It was the flag of Kataib Hezbollah, a militia trained and funded by Iran. | |
| The Shiite militias mark their presence with flags. At Dujail, to the north of Baghdad, there is the flag of Asaib al-Haq: a white background with a green sketch of Iraq, with a Kalashnikov lying across it and framed by two swords. | The Shiite militias mark their presence with flags. At Dujail, to the north of Baghdad, there is the flag of Asaib al-Haq: a white background with a green sketch of Iraq, with a Kalashnikov lying across it and framed by two swords. |
| Asaib al-Haq prides itself as perhaps the toughest of the Iranian-backed militias. Like Kataib, its fighters are battle hardened, having fought for President Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria, and are better prepared for this war than most others. Farther north, on the outskirts of Samarra, flies the flag of a new militia formed by the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, bearing a dove and his likeness. | |
| The revered Askariya Shrine in Samarra holds the tombs of two Shiite imams, and Shiites have sworn that they will protect it. The Sunni militants’ goal is to destroy or damage it, as they did in 2006, touching off vicious sectarian bloodletting that lasted into 2008. | The revered Askariya Shrine in Samarra holds the tombs of two Shiite imams, and Shiites have sworn that they will protect it. The Sunni militants’ goal is to destroy or damage it, as they did in 2006, touching off vicious sectarian bloodletting that lasted into 2008. |
| Back then, the Shiites, after suffering more than two years of suicide bombings, turned on Sunnis. Western security forces say the Sunni extremist group leading the current assault, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, hopes that will happen again and draw the larger Sunni community to their cause. | |
| “This area is extremely vital,” said Lt. Gen. Sabah al-Fatlawi, who heads the Samarra Special Force Command, which is leading the fight there and includes hundreds if not thousands of Shiite volunteers and militiamen. | |
| Although the Sunni militants have been driven back to the city’s outskirts, on June 5 they were less than a mile and a half from the shrine, and they continue to lob mortar shells at it in hopes of damaging its magnificent golden dome. A barrage last week exploded just 50 feet from the shrine’s entrance. | Although the Sunni militants have been driven back to the city’s outskirts, on June 5 they were less than a mile and a half from the shrine, and they continue to lob mortar shells at it in hopes of damaging its magnificent golden dome. A barrage last week exploded just 50 feet from the shrine’s entrance. |
| A pickup passes, packed with young men in beige fatigues. If they are armed, the guns are not visible, and their innocent-looking faces suggest they are volunteers. They look terribly vulnerable in the open truck; in a different year, they would be young men on an outing to enjoy the shade of the vast palm groves that line either side of the road. | A pickup passes, packed with young men in beige fatigues. If they are armed, the guns are not visible, and their innocent-looking faces suggest they are volunteers. They look terribly vulnerable in the open truck; in a different year, they would be young men on an outing to enjoy the shade of the vast palm groves that line either side of the road. |
| The ISIS offensive, and the call to arms by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s chief Shiite cleric, brought a surge of volunteers for the Iraqi Army and the Shiite militias. Volunteers from this area were being trained at a camp deep inside Balad, where electricity is scarce and black or green flags — two of the colors often favored by Shiites — hang from gates and windows. | |
| The mood in the camp is edgy. Despite the soul-sapping heat, the volunteers have lined up in formation. Almost all of the 200 to 300 men have scrounged up something military-looking to wear for the training. | The mood in the camp is edgy. Despite the soul-sapping heat, the volunteers have lined up in formation. Almost all of the 200 to 300 men have scrounged up something military-looking to wear for the training. |
| “Everyone brings his own uniform,” said Col. Mustafa, the Iraqi Army commander in charge of the camp and of Balad, who declined to give his last name. He said 2,049 volunteers had registered there so far. “We provide the weapons, the ammunition and equipment,” he said. | “Everyone brings his own uniform,” said Col. Mustafa, the Iraqi Army commander in charge of the camp and of Balad, who declined to give his last name. He said 2,049 volunteers had registered there so far. “We provide the weapons, the ammunition and equipment,” he said. |
| Colonel Mustafa did not appear to have an easy job. His charges are a motley assortment of men of different ages and physical abilities, some so out of shape that even running away from harm might be too much for them. Many were older, earnest and enthusiastic, but probably incapable of defending anything. | |
| One man stepped forward, the bones showing through his lean face, saluted and said, “I was born in 1943,” making him 70 or 71. “I am here to defend the country.” | One man stepped forward, the bones showing through his lean face, saluted and said, “I was born in 1943,” making him 70 or 71. “I am here to defend the country.” |
| There were many young men, too, fit and eager looking. Sooner or later there would have to be a winnowing process. | There were many young men, too, fit and eager looking. Sooner or later there would have to be a winnowing process. |
| With Colonel Mustafa was Sheikh Mehdi al-Asadi, a new sort of cleric — one who wears military fatigues with his turban. | |
| Sheikh Asadi rarely let Colonel Mustafa complete a sentence. He had come at the behest of the marja, Iraq’s Shiite religious leadership, leaving the school where he taught in Baghdad, and was eager to declaim the commitment of the volunteers. | Sheikh Asadi rarely let Colonel Mustafa complete a sentence. He had come at the behest of the marja, Iraq’s Shiite religious leadership, leaving the school where he taught in Baghdad, and was eager to declaim the commitment of the volunteers. |
| “We are ready to die to protect the country,” he said. | “We are ready to die to protect the country,” he said. |
| Colonel Mustafa described a touch-and-go environment. “There are daily attacks by mortars,” he said, adding that there was a gunfight “three or four days ago and we lost two people and there were 20 wounded.” | Colonel Mustafa described a touch-and-go environment. “There are daily attacks by mortars,” he said, adding that there was a gunfight “three or four days ago and we lost two people and there were 20 wounded.” |
| But, he added, “we are backed by the government and the Iraqi Army.” | But, he added, “we are backed by the government and the Iraqi Army.” |
| Sheikh Asadi interrupted him: “But most important, we are backed by the marja — otherwise all those people would not be there,” he said, nodding toward the volunteers. | |
| Barely 300 feet out of Balad, the signs of recent fighting are everywhere. In places the grass is burned black and the charred carcasses of trucks lie upended as if they had been swept up and dropped by a fiery tornado. Checkpoints are perched uncertainly on the median, little more than small turrets with a gun position at the top, their walls pockmarked by bullets. | Barely 300 feet out of Balad, the signs of recent fighting are everywhere. In places the grass is burned black and the charred carcasses of trucks lie upended as if they had been swept up and dropped by a fiery tornado. Checkpoints are perched uncertainly on the median, little more than small turrets with a gun position at the top, their walls pockmarked by bullets. |
| In this area, known as Ishaki, the flags belong to Kataib Hezbollah. The few stores near the road are empty; most have the glass blown out of their windows. There are no regular forces here. | |
| It is left to the militiamen to fend off ISIS. Most of them are young, nervous and unsmiling. They do not like strangers coming through. | It is left to the militiamen to fend off ISIS. Most of them are young, nervous and unsmiling. They do not like strangers coming through. |
| None wear regular uniforms or protective gear, but they all wear green headbands that say “Ya Hussein,” a reference to the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, a Shiite martyr who died defending the faith. A few appear to be highly trained; a lean, muscular man carries a sniper rifle with an ease that suggests he knows how to use it. | |
| When the car stops at the checkpoints, it is completely silent on the road except for the wind in the tall grasses and the palm trees. The wary looks of the gunmen and the lack of any other signs of life leave a sinister feeling, as if everyone is waiting, watching, fearing that something, someone is still out there. | When the car stops at the checkpoints, it is completely silent on the road except for the wind in the tall grasses and the palm trees. The wary looks of the gunmen and the lack of any other signs of life leave a sinister feeling, as if everyone is waiting, watching, fearing that something, someone is still out there. |
| A few miles on, the mood eases, there are a few shops, some melons in the sun, their proprietor having gone inside. At a traffic circle, about 20 white cars and pickup trucks fly the white flags of Mr. Sadr’s new militia, Saraya al-Salam, or the Peace Brigades. | |
| Despite the Shiite shrine in its midst, Samarra is a mainly Sunni town, so the arrival of thousands of Shiite militias has been regarded with suspicion. The town itself feels almost deserted, and the pilgrims who used to fill its streets stopped coming more than two months ago. | Despite the Shiite shrine in its midst, Samarra is a mainly Sunni town, so the arrival of thousands of Shiite militias has been regarded with suspicion. The town itself feels almost deserted, and the pilgrims who used to fill its streets stopped coming more than two months ago. |
| Indeed, about 50 percent of the residents have fled, said Adnan, 45, a professor at Samarra University, who is Sunni and asked not to be identified because he is fearful that the militants might learn what he said. | Indeed, about 50 percent of the residents have fled, said Adnan, 45, a professor at Samarra University, who is Sunni and asked not to be identified because he is fearful that the militants might learn what he said. |
| The militias have been ordered not to eat the food or buy up the fuel in the markets because there are serious shortages and the commanders do not to take anything from residents who are in desperate need, Adnan said. | |
| “I have not dealt with Shiite militias before, and according to what I had heard about them, they were monsters — I did not think they could respect anyone,” he said. But going through daily checkpoints, he said he found them polite and said they were not bothering him. | |
| As part of the effort not to burden residents, the Sadr militia members have been sent to the outskirts of the town, where the mostly Sunni residents are less likely to encounter them, said Hakim al-Zamili, the leader of Mr. Sadr’s militia. | As part of the effort not to burden residents, the Sadr militia members have been sent to the outskirts of the town, where the mostly Sunni residents are less likely to encounter them, said Hakim al-Zamili, the leader of Mr. Sadr’s militia. |
| Now, there are only the volunteers who have come to protect the shrine. In the midday heat, all but a couple are sprawled in the entry hall in a deep sleep. | |
| One of the few not sleeping is Sabah Sadiq, 55, who has been working periodically on the shrine’s reconstruction but had returned home to Nasiriya in the south. When he heard Ayatollah Sistani’s call on June 13 to defend the country, he rushed back. | |
| A gentle man, who explained each of the four tombs in the shrine’s inner sanctum to a visitor, he kept searching for words to convey his feeling and that of many of the volunteers. | |
| “Now we are ready to be killed,” he said, “These are our imams, and this is one of the holiest places in the whole of Iraq.” | |
| They were like members of his own family, he said of the imams buried there. “It is one of our biggest priorities,” he said. “It is more important than ourselves.” | They were like members of his own family, he said of the imams buried there. “It is one of our biggest priorities,” he said. “It is more important than ourselves.” |