U.S. air strikes return in southern Iraq after calm

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. air strikes return in southern Iraq after calm
03 Apr 2008 09:34:41 GMT

* U.S. calls in helicopter strikes in Hilla clash

* Sadr calls for peaceful sit-in

* U.S. air strike destroys house in Basra

By Peter Graff

BAGHDAD, April 3, (Reuters) - U.S. forces called in
helicopter strikes during a clash with gunmen on
Thursday in the city of Hilla and said they bombed a
house in Basra, stepping up raids after days of relative
calm in Iraq's volatile south.

Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers fought
Iraqi and U.S. forces last week, called for a "peaceful
sit-in" in Baghdad on Friday to protest against bombings,
arrests and vehicle bans that continue to seal off parts
of the capital.

Police sources in the Shi'ite city of Hilla said five
people had been killed in Thursday's predawn clash,
including four policemen.

In Basra, where last week's fighting erupted when Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown on Sadr
followers, a U.S. air strike late on Wednesday destroyed
a house.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L03403824.htm

[Eugene]

1. Guardian: Seven dead as US jets target Basra

Source: The Guardian

9.15am BST
Seven dead as US jets target Basra

Mark Tran and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Thursday April 3 2008

An air strike destroyed a house in Basra, killing one militant,
the US military stated today, but Iraqi police said six civilians
were among the dead.

The attack came in an apparent change of tactics as the Iraqi
government carried out more targeted raids instead of directly
taking on militia men after a week of fierce clashes that spread
to Baghdad and other southern cities.

Supporters of the radical cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, accused the
Iraqi army of violating an Iranian-brokered agreement that ended
last week's fighting.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/03/iraq

[Supersedeas]

2. major combat operations are over?