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Calm in Baghdad's Sadr City, some violence elsewhere
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 21 - 05 - 2008

The streets of Baghdad's Sadr City were calmer
Wednesday after two months of violent clashes between Iraqi forces
and militants of the so-called Mahdi Army, while scattered violent
incidents were reported in other parts of the Iraqi capital, according to dpa.
Iraqi troops were seen moving around the district and standing at
checkpoints while US troops were patrolling the streets for the first
time since intense clashes broke out on March 25 between Iraqi forces
and the militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Violence appears to have lessened while Iraqi forces continued
their efforts to mop up Mahdi Army members and to uncover their
weapon caches in the volatile district.
Last week, the al-Sadr political bloc and the United Iraqi
Alliance, the main power in the ruling coalition, signed a ceasefire
deal to end the fighting between al Sadr's militia and Iraqi forces
in its east Baghdad stronghold.
The anti-US Shiite cleric ordered his followers to abide by the
truce and end fighting.
Mahdi al-Saady, a resident in the Shiite enclave, told Deutsche
Presse-Agentur dpa that he hopes the presence of Iraqi forces in Sadr
City would provide security instead of being a "new cover for
military and detention operations."
"Violence and military operations have destroyed our streets and
made us lose many of our friends and loved ones for no reason," the
53-year-old Sadrist said.
He added: "The situation in the district is really unpleasant.
Garbage and sewage are spreading in the streets and schools are
closed."
Meanwhile, a female suicide bomber detonated her explosive belt in
front of the headquarters of an Awakening Council (US-backed anti-
insurgency militia), killing two police officers and wounding another
four, al-Iraqiya television reported.
The explosion occurred in the Ratab area of Anbar city, some 100
kilometres west of Baghdad.
Three civilians were wounded when a bomb went off in Baghdad's
Palestine street, witnesses told dpa. Nearby stores were also
destroyed in the blast.
In other news, Kurdish security sources said four members of the
Awakening Council were killed and another three wounded when
militants opened fire on their checkpoint late Tuesday.
The insurgents attacked the checkpoint in Jolaa district, north-
eastern Baghdad.
Sources said a curfew was imposed in the area, as there were
investigative reports about the presence of two female suicide
bombers that were targeting Jolaa's police station.
In Baghdad's Mansour district, one civilian was killed and 11
killed when two explosive vehicles were detonated, the Voices of Iraq
(VOI) news agency said.
In the first explosion, which occurred in front of a restaurant,
the civilian was killed and another six were wounded. A few minutes
later another explosion took place, injuring five people.


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