Thursday - May 08, 2008

Is the end near for Sadr City fighters?

Iraqi soldiers for the first time warned residents in the embattled Sadr City district to leave their houses Thursday, signaling a new push by the U.S.-backed forces against Shiite extremist who have been waging street battles for seven weeks.

Iraqi soldiers, using loudspeakers, told residents in some areas of southeastern Sadr City, which were virtually abandoned, to go to nearby soccer stadiums, residents said. UNICEF says about 6,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Sadr City, most of them from the southeastern section.

U.S. forces have increased air power and armored patrols in an attempt to cripple Shiite militia influence in Sadr City, a slum of 2.5 million people that serves as the Baghdad base for the Mahdi Army led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The U.S. military is trying to weaken the militia grip in the slum and disrupt rocket and mortar strikes from Sadr City on the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which includes the U.S. Embassy and key Iraqi government offices.
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Iraqi soldiers on Thursday shut down a local radio station, al-Aahad, run by the Sadrists after raiding offices of the station in a neighborhood near Sadr City, police said.

Fighting continues to be hot in this area of Baghdad, and the wall around it continues to be built. Divide, then conquer. Looks like the divisioning aspect is really progressing, so maybe the conquer part is soon to come. Fighting around the Qod Street part of the wall is still intense:

The Mahdi Army continues to attack US and Iraqi forces as they erect the barrier on Qods Street, which divides the southern third from the northern portion of Sadr City. US and Iraqi troops responded, killing 18 Mahdi Army fighters and capturing 11 throughout Baghdad.

US and Iraqi troops and US air weapons teams killed 11 Mahdi Army fighters as they attacked barrier emplacement teams and planted roadside bombs in Sadr City on the night of May 5 and the morning of May 6. Iraqi soldiers and police also uncovered numerous weapons caches in northern and eastern Baghdad. In one raid, Iraqi police discovered a weapons cache in the courtyard of the Imam Ali Mosque in the Al Ghadeer neighborhood in New Baghdad (number 31 on map). “The [National Police] found five explosively formed projectiles, two improvised explosive devices, five rocket rails, three grenades and numerous rounds of various ammunitions,” Multinational Forces Iraq reported.

The US military conducted a guided rocket attack on a Special Groups headquarters adjacent to a hospital in Sadr City, while 14 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed during clashes over the past 24 hours.

The US Army targeted and destroyed a Special Groups command and control center in a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System strike in Sadr City at 10 AM local time Saturday morning, Multinational Forces Iraq reported. “There were six GMLRS rocket strikes on these Special Groups criminal command and control nodes,” (said Public Relations Officer) Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover

I’m posting this because you probably haven’t heard much about it on your TV news. There has been a pretty heavy battle going on there in Sadr City for over a month now, and al Sadr’s gangs are getting creamed. Gee, too friggin bad. These rocket attacks - I mentioned the GMLRS system the other day - are proving to be a very effective weapons system for the Army. Good.

With their vertical trajectory, ability to cover 70 kilometers (43 miles) in 82 seconds and close-combat precision, GMLRS rockets are becoming the rockets of choice, even when other more traditional missiles or other bombs are available.  Army officials say many requests for the rockets to be used instead of aircraft-launched missiles are coming from the Air Force.  Of the estimated 273 missions in which GMLRS rockets have been used in theater, about 83 percent were accomplished in urban environments and 69 percent were done with troops in close proximity.
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U.S. Army commanders and troops have come to view the Army’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) as their “70-kilometer sniper rifle,” but enemy forces in Iraq see the weapon in a starker light.

“The enemy is calling it the ’Hand of Allah,’”

Got that one right Achmed. The Hand of Allah. And stop and think, if you live long enough that is, just who is controlling that hand.

Posted by Drew458     on 05/08/2008 at 02:22 PM   
Filed Under: • Iraq • Military •  
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