UAV airstrike, clashes kill 5 in Sadr City

[unhappycamper]

UAV airstrike, clashes kill 5 in Sadr City
By Slobodan Lekic - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 22, 2008 14:23:50 EDT

BAGHDAD — An unmanned drone killed two gunmen in Baghdad’s embattled Sadr City district, while another remote-controlled aircraft crashed south of the capital, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

In Kuwait, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki urged neighboring countries to help dry up “the springs of terrorism” by preventing militants from obtaining weapons and financing from abroad. He was attending a meeting of Iraq’s neighbors and other nations aimed at helping the government restore stability in Iraq.

There has been a sharp increase in violence in the country since al-Maliki launched an offensive against Shiite militias in the southern city of Basra nearly a month ago. The fighting quickly spread to Sadr City, one of the strongholds of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to which U.S. and Iraqi forces have laid siege.

Militiamen also have responded by repeatedly shelling Baghdad’s U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and offices of the Iraqi government.

Last weekend, al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, threatened to declare full-scale war on the U.S.-backed government if attacks on his followers continue. And on Monday, top Sadrists warned that open warfare was a “strong possibility” if the government did not ease the pressure on the Mahdi militia.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_sadrcity_042208/