A company of government troops abandoned its positions in Sadr City when the forces came under attack from Shiite militiamen who took advantage of a sandstorm, police said Friday. The clashes overnight killed two people and injured nine, a police commander said. The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release the information, said it was unclear whether there were any casualties among the soldiers. The reports of the latest setback for the Iraqi army come after government officials acknowledged that during fighting last month against Shiite militias in the southern city of Basra and other towns, more than 1,300 Iraqi soldiers and police deserted or refused to fight. The police officer said militiamen belonging to the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr launched their attack shortly before midnight on army positions in Sadr City, a sprawling slum area of some 2.5 million in eastern Baghdad. The company responsible for that section abandoned their positions, including their command post in Al-Nasir police station, he said. The officer did not know exactly how many troops were involved. An Iraqi infantry company normally has 150 men but reports from the field say many are undermanned and have only 80-90. US troops responded with artillery fire, but no helicopters or unmanned drones were sighted, the officer said. The Iraqi military had no immediate comment, but a US spokesman said the situation remained under control Friday. “The Iraqi Army still holds their positions in Sadr City. They are currently under attack ... but are organizing a counterattack right now,” said Lt. Col. Steve Stover in an e-mailed statement. Sadrist leaders on Friday urged the government to stop erecting concrete walls in the district and other Shiite neighborhoods. Meanwhile, the Mahdi Army urged government troops to desert and described Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's government as “just like Saddam's.” “To all brothers in the government's forces of army and police commandos, we invite you to repent and rejoin the national line and embrace your suffering people,” said the group's statement printed on leaflets distributed throughout the city. Also on Friday, the Sadrist office in that city said they had received an ultimatum from the government forces to vacate their headquarters in the country's oil capital because the compound belonged to the government. The militants said they had been given 48 hours to leave. __
