Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on Tuesday termed the weeklong crackdown against militia violence in the southern city of Basra a “success.” Maliki's assertion came despite a violent backlash among followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr. Maliki, however, stopped short of declaring an end to the offensive as the Shiite leader faced criticism that the government had been unprepared for the ferocious resistance mounted by Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. The British Defense Ministry also announced plans to put on hold a scheduled withdrawal of around 1,500 British troops from the area after the recent surge in violence. Sporadic fighting, meanwhile, continued in Baghdad and Basra despite a tense calm that followed a peace agreement by Sadr. A US helicopter fired a Hellfire missile at gunmen attacking ground forces early Tuesday, killing six militants in Baghdad's Shiite stronghold of Sadr City, the military said. The fighting has driven civilian deaths in Iraq to their highest level in more than six months, government figures showed on Tuesday. A total of 923 civilians were killed in March, up 31 percent from February and the deadliest month since August 2007, according to data compiled by Iraq's interior, defense and health ministries and obtained by Reuters. Despite the sharp rise in casualties last month, the March figure was still much lower than the 1,861 civilians who died violently in the same month a year ago at a time when Iraq was on the verge of all-out civil war. A total of 1,358 civilians were wounded last month, compared with 2,700 a year ago. The Iraqi data also showed 102 policemen and 54 soldiers were killed in March, compared with 65 and 20 respectively in February. It showed 641 insurgents had been killed in March and 2,509 detained. The Basra confrontation enabled Sadr to show that he remains a powerful force capable of challenging the Iraqi government, the Americans and mainstream Shiite parties that have sought for years to marginalize him. And the outcome cast doubt on President George W. Bush's assessment that the Basra battle was “a defining moment.” With gunmen again off the streets, a round-the-clock curfew imposed in Baghdad last week was lifted at 6 A.M. Monday, except in Sadr City and two other Shiite neighborhoods. Streets of the capital buzzed with traffic and commerce. __
