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U.S. Tanks, Planes Strike Sadr City
U.S. tanks raided the Baghdad Shi'ite Muslim stronghold of Sadr City in the early hours of Wednesday as aircraft bombed the area and helicopters flew low overhead, witnesses said. A U.S. military spokesman in the Iraqi capital confirmed that an operation was under way but would give no details. One local resident said he counted up to two dozen U.S. tanks and other armored vehicles on the streets in the western part of Sadr City, a sprawling, poor neighborhood to the northeast of Baghdad's city center where anti-American insurgents have established large areas of control. U.S. officials have said they intend to eliminate armed opposition to the new Iraqi administration ahead of elections planned for January. Officials in Washington said on Tuesday that the military was tapping emergency funds in anticipation, partly, of heavy fighting in the coming months. Bombing had begun around 1 a.m. and was continuing. The district is a major power base for Moqtada al-Sadr. Posted by: Fred 2004-09-22 |
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