The US military killed more than 50 militia loyal to Moqtada Al Sadr in a significant advance early this morning into a Baghdad suburb that is one of his powerbases. The radical Iraqi cleric leading a Shi'ite uprising earlier agreed to disarm his militia and leave one of the country's holiest Islamic shrines after the interim government threatened to storm the Imam Ali Mosque to teach his Mehdi Army militia "a lesson they will never forget". Tensions, however, remained high after dark in the holy city where fighting has raged for two weeks and killed hundreds.
| "Killed 50 people"... "Tensions remain high"... I'd say those two statements go together. |
Sadr, who only a few days ago had vowed to fight to the death, said his forces would disarm and leave only after Marines encircling the city had agreed to a truce. An armed group 'Martyrs Squad', meanwhile, threatened to kill a kidnapped American journalist Micah Garen unless US forces withdraw from Najaf within 48 hours, Al Jazeera TV reported last night. Explosions and gun fire still echoed around the mosque hours after the announcement that Sadr had agreed to end a rebellion that has posed the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Iyad Allawi since he took over from US-led occupiers on June 28. |