Iraq troops take control of Basra militia bastion

4 hours ago

BASRA, Iraq (AFP) — Iraqi forces took control on Saturday of a district of the southern city of Basra which has seen intense firefights between troops and Shiite militiamen, the interior ministry said.

Iraqi troops entered the northern Hayaniyah district of the city and took control of the area in an operation lasting several hours, ministry spokesman Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said.

"We launched an operation in the morning. There was some exchange of fire. The operation is now over in Hayaniyah without any strong resistance," Khalaf told AFP.

"Our troops are deployed on the rooftops of tall buildings in the area," he added.

Hayaniyah, a stronghold of fighters loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has seen intense firefights since March 25 when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on militiamen in the southern port city.

Since then US warplanes have carried out several air strikes in the district targeting Shiite militiamen. Dozens of people have been killed.

In a statement released in Baghdad, the US military said the operation in Hayaniyah was phase three of the Saulat al-Fursan (Charge of the Knights) assault launched by Maliki last month.

Saturday's operation was backed by British artillery and US aircraft which bombed known "criminal rocket and mortar sites west of Hayaniyah", the US statement said.

British military spokesman Major Tom Holloway said: "As with the earlier phases of Operation Charge of the Knights, this remains an Iraqi led, planned and executed mission.

"Coalition troops are ready to provide support to Iraqi security forces as requested and required," he added.

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They're building a stupid wall through it.


That'll solve the sectarian insurgency once and for all.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080419...stsadrcitywall

Whats funny is that the story about the 'wall' you linked is the lead and at the very bottom a couple of sentences about Basra,when it should be the other way around.I mean theyve built these 'walls' made out of obviously removable pieces,in hundreds of places in Iraq.If ever there was a place that needed such walls is Sadr City.Yet somehow its big news.Build the wall,cordon off sectors,clear them,secure them.When things are secure enough,move them.

Extra extra...read all about it.

Im not holding my breath for the MSM to give the Iraqi Army any credit,whos kidding who? No liberal media

Complete with photo of "USA no no no".....lol

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Yep.

Ending sectarian strife by sectarian segregation.

That's perfect logic that's working out so well.

Let's hope we can keep the bribe money flowing.

Sectarian violence down 45% since August,must be doing something right.

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Im not holding my breath for the MSM to give the Iraqi Army any credit,whos kidding who? No liberal media

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Let us give credit where credit it due:

"BAGHDAD: A company of Iraqi soldiers abandoned their positions in Sadr City, defying American soldiers who implored them to hold the line against the Shiite militias."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/...st/baghdad.php

Iraqi troops have finally achieved some success in the ongoing battle to fight the militias, so as soon as that happens, the press flouts it all over the internet! Nothing stating how long it took them to do it; nothing about how, by taking so long in achieving said goal; the Iraqi Army has shown that it CAN be defeated by militia.
The Iraqi Army is a joke. If the Mahdi Army can keep it back, even when the Iraqis have direct American support, then who's to say that the Iraqis can fight Iran on their own, Al Qaeda on their own, or even keep Turkey out of Kurdistan?!
Iraq has been lost. Maliki's government is as successful as Van Thieu's was; the longer we stay, the more soldiers we kill. And for what? Tell me, for what are we now fighting for? The Iraqi people? The Iraqis loyal to Al Sadr live better than those loyal to Maliki: that should tell us something. We need to understand that when militias armed with crappy AK's - but who are loyal to Al Sadr - are so devoted to their cause that they will stand up against the torrent of fire that they knew would come to them, we should know then that we have lost the good will of the Iraqi people. No modern army can win a war like this unless it is will of the people. It is pointless to back a government: it is not pointless to back a popular movement.

Thats good news. Iraq has made leaps and bounds in progress over the past year and a half and they are now getting into a positon where they take a much more active role in security operations.

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McCain/Palin 2008
"We make war that we may live in peace"
"Peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever."
"Keep that faith,keep your courage,stick together, stay strong,do not yield,do not flinch,stand up,we're Americans,we'll never surrender they will"
http://members.cox.net/neddy/bobhope_kerfuffles.wmv
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RnfflRNpwKA
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j-QYIP7o2-A