Tuesday, February 27, 2007
U.S., Iraqi forces raid Sadr City
Security
(AP) US and Iraqi forces staged raids in Baghdad’s main Shia militant stronghold Tuesday as part of politically sensitive forays into areas loyal to radical cleric Muqtada Al Sadr. Troops have held back on broad sweeps through the teeming Sadr City slums since a major security operation began earlier this month targeting militant factions and sectarian death squads that have ruled Baghdad’s streets.
Al Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the neighbor-by-neighbor security sweeps move ahead. But Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and others have opposed extensive U.S.-led patrols through Sadr City, fearing a violent backlash could derail the security effort. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts.
At least 16 people were arrested after U.S.-Iraqi commandos, using concussion grenades, stormed six homes, police said. The US military had no immediate details of the operation. At a news conference, the Pentagon’s No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, declined to comment on whether there were special tactics for Sadr City. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al Arabiya television that forces will increase our operations in the coming days,’ but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October.
Al Sadr withdrew his powerful Mahdi Army militia from checkpoints and bases under intense government pressure to let the neighbor-by-neighbor security sweeps move ahead. But Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and others have opposed extensive U.S.-led patrols through Sadr City, fearing a violent backlash could derail the security effort. The pre-dawn raids appeared to highlight a strategy of pinpoint strikes in Sadr City rather than the flood of soldiers sent into some Sunni districts.
At least 16 people were arrested after U.S.-Iraqi commandos, using concussion grenades, stormed six homes, police said. The US military had no immediate details of the operation. At a news conference, the Pentagon’s No. 2 commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, declined to comment on whether there were special tactics for Sadr City. "We will go after anyone who we feel is working against the government of Iraq," he said. US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told Al Arabiya television that forces will increase our operations in the coming days,’ but noted that the security crackdown in the capital should continue until at least October.
Labels: Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, raid, Sadr City, security forces
