Reply #1: Link to NY Times article (I didn't want to post a new thread)

[AZCat]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/06/international/middleeast/06IRAQ.html?pagewanted=all&position=

U.S. Troops Start Major Attacks on Shiite Insurgents in 2 Cities
By EDWARD WONG

Published: May 6, 2004

KARBALA, Iraq, Thursday, May 6 -- The American military has begun its first major assault against Shiite insurgents, striking at their enclaves here and in Diwaniya in an effort to regain control in southern Iraq.

The coordinated attacks began hours after powerful Shiite politicians and religious leaders met in Baghdad on Tuesday to urge a rebellious young cleric, Moktada al-Sadr, to withdraw his militia from here and from Najaf, both important religious sites for Shiites. Mr. Sadr's followers have taken up positions in mosques in the cities, stockpiling weapons and daring the Americans to come after them.

The operation began at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and took place in two waves. The first assault began late Tuesday here and in Diwaniya, and ended at dawn on Wednesday.

The second unfolded just after midnight Thursday in this city, when more than 450 soldiers in armored vehicles rumbled into a neighborhood amusement park where Mr. Sadr's militiamen, known as the Mahdi Army, were storing heavy weapons near a ferris wheel and bumper car ride.
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more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/06/international/middleeast/06IRAQ.html?pagewanted=all&position=
I think this is the same fighting as mentioned above (the two towns in para. 2).