Someone said, Booo!
Gun-toting fighters of hardline cleric Moqtada al-Sadr melted from the streets on Monday after days of fierce clashes with security forces as a curfew in Baghdad was lifted and eased in Basra. AFP correspondents in Baghdad and Basra said the militants had disappeared on Monday and the fighting which had rocked the two cities since last Tuesday had died down.
“They are following Sadr’s orders,” said Asadi, 36. “But we are ready, should the Americans come inside our district, to fight. We have enough IEDs (improvised explosive devices) for them. If they come, we will defend ourselves.”
Where does he think he is, Detroitistan?
“Life is getting back to normal in Sadr City,” said Ahmed Suhail, a resident of the sprawling district of some two million Shiites. “Most shops are open and there are no militiamen in the streets,” Suhail said.
MSM coverage in 5, 4, 3, oh never mind
The US military said on Monday its troops had killed 41 “criminals” in Baghdad, including 25 who died when a suspected mortar team was bombed.
Life's a bitch and then you die...
The fighting began on March 25 when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered his troops to attack Mahdi Army strongholds in Basra, the southern oil hub, which he said were infested by “lawless gunmen.” The fighting quickly spread across other Shiite areas and flared in particular in Sadr City.
OK so maybe one of the excellent Burgers could explain that. Sadr didn't attack first? |