BAGHDAD - Influential Sunni Muslim clerics who once condemned Iraqi security force members as traitors made a surprise turnaround Friday and encouraged citizens to join the nascent police and army.
If heeded, the announcement could strengthen the image of the officers and soldiers trying to take over the fight against the Sunni-led insurgency.
Still, it wasn't a full-fledged endorsement. The edict, endorsed by a group of 64 Sunni clerics and scholars, instructed enlistees to refrain from helping foreign troops against Iraqi citizens.
Ahmed Abdul Ghafour al-Samarrai, a cleric in the Association of Muslim Scholars, read the edict during a sermon at a major Sunni mosque in Baghdad. He said it was necessary for Sunnis to join the security forces to prevent Iraqi police and army from falling into "the hands of those who have caused chaos, destruction and violated the sanctities."
No prison for captain
WIESBADEN, Germany - A decorated Army captain convicted in the shooting death of a wounded Iraqi was dismissed from the military Friday but will serve no time in prison after insisting at his court-martial that the shooting was a mercy killing.
Capt. Rogelio "Roger" Maynulet, 30, could have faced 10 years in prison after being convicted Thursday of assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter.
