US troops seize control of Sadr City

According to the US military fifty al-Mahdi army fighters and two US soldiers were killed in the fighting which ensued from the US advance into the area on Wednesday.

Soldiers in Humvees on Thursday called on al-Mahdi Army fighters to surrender their weapons.

Biggest push

The thrust marks the biggest push against al-Sadr's fighters in Baghdad.

"Sadr City residents, your government has banned all militias in Iraq. Come forward and surrender your weapons," a message in Arabic read by loudspeakers from Humvees said.

Armoured vehicles were deployed in all main streets in the suburb, a area of two million people that has long been a no-go area for US occupation forces.

Soldiers cleared suspected explosive charges and unexploded munitions as some residents stood on pavements watching them.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/23462DA5-1F0D-4963-AE22-E90DC8C1EE02.htm

U.S. Forces Overrun Baghdad's Sadr City District, Reuters Says
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. forces with tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles have overrun Baghdad's Sadr city district, a powerbase for Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, Reuters said today, citing unidentified witnesses.

Iraqi and U.S. troops have clashed with militia in the Baghdad district, and in Najaf and other southern cities since the cleric's followers began an uprising two weeks ago. The U.S. military yesterday said it killed more than 50 al-Sadr militiamen during an advance into Sadr City, Reuters said.

Al-Sadr yesterday agreed to a plan to disarm his fighters and quit Najaf's Imam Ali Mosque, Iraq's holiest Shiite Muslim site, Reuters said, citing Ali al-Yassiri, the cleric's political liaison officer. Explosions and sniper fire today in Najaf raised doubts the truce will be implemented, Reuters said.

In Sadr City, U.S. troops today used loudspeakers to call on militia in the area to hand over their arms, Reuters said.

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