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US Troops Storm Tater City
US forces have begun storming the al Sadr suburb of Baghdad, reports say. The area has been tense between American forces and supporters of the Shi'ite radical cleric Moqtada al Sadr. America used dozens of tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles to over run the cleric's stronghold. Members of the Mehdi army seemed to melt away, Reuters news agency said. The US troops called on the militiamen to hand over their arms. The move follows a similar threat to attack the Mehdi army in the southern city of Najaf where al Sadr has been holed up in a two week stand-off. He is reported to have struck a deal with the interim government to end the uprising, just hours after the defence minister threatened a "decisive battle" to remove the cleric from the holy city. Confusion surrounded exactly what al Sadr had agreed to. The government was demanding he and his army lay down their arms and withdraw from the holy shrine where they are holed up. The government was also calling for him to enter the political process. But it later appeared al Sadr was calling for the American troops to withdraw from Najaf before he complied - something that is unlikely to happen. Posted by: Howard UK 2004-08-19 |
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