OklahomaTuba
3/4/2007, 07:07 PM
Wasn't much of a battle. Seems the Mahdi Army has just gone into hiding or melted away.
Hundreds of U.S. soldiers entered the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City on Sunday in the first major push into the area since an American-led security sweep began last month around Baghdad.
Soldiers conducted house-to-house searches, but met no resistance in a district firmly in the hands of the Madhi Army militia led by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said Lt. Col. David Oclander.
The move into Sadr City came following negotiations with political leaders in the neighborhood.
Al-Sadr had withdrawn his militia under intense pressure from the government, but there were worries that a large-scale military push without political clearance could bring a backlash and jeopardize the entire security effort.
"The indication that we are getting is a lot of the really bad folks have gone into hiding," Oclander said.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2922042&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Without a doubt, We Are Winning. Let's get this thing won and get our troops home.
Hundreds of U.S. soldiers entered the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City on Sunday in the first major push into the area since an American-led security sweep began last month around Baghdad.
Soldiers conducted house-to-house searches, but met no resistance in a district firmly in the hands of the Madhi Army militia led by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said Lt. Col. David Oclander.
The move into Sadr City came following negotiations with political leaders in the neighborhood.
Al-Sadr had withdrawn his militia under intense pressure from the government, but there were worries that a large-scale military push without political clearance could bring a backlash and jeopardize the entire security effort.
"The indication that we are getting is a lot of the really bad folks have gone into hiding," Oclander said.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2922042&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
Without a doubt, We Are Winning. Let's get this thing won and get our troops home.