U.S., Iraqi Troops Begin Security Sweep in Sadr City

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/04/AR2007030400345.html

U.S., Iraqi Troops Begin Security Sweep in Sadr City

By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 4, 2007; 8:08 AM

BAGHDAD, March 4 -- U.S. and Iraqi troops swept into Sadr City Sunday morning, the first large-scale military push into the Shiite militia stronghold and one of the most volatile parts of the capital since the Baghdad security plan got underway.

Soldiers arrived at the sprawling neighborhood early Sunday and went door to door searching for illegal weapons and suspicious activity, U.S. military spokesman Christopher C. Garver said."We've met very little resistance so far," Lt. Col. Garver said. "But it's very early in the operation."

Sadr city, one of the focal support bases for radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army, has until now largely dodged the increased security measures and military operations implemented during the security plan. Some Iraqi and U.S. officials have said Sadr and his top deputies left the capital in order to avoid a security crackdown.

The neighborhood has been relatively stable in recent weeks.

Also Sunday, an Iraqi editor was fatally shot outside his home in western Baghdad, the Reuters news agency reported. Mohan al-Dhaher, an editor at al-Mashriq, was apparently slain after he fought men trying to kidnap him, according to Reuters.

In addition, U.S. forces raided a mosque in Baghdad Sunday and detained three suspected insurgents, according to the U.S. military.

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