Word: baghdad
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...charade is going on in Baghdad and it may end badly. The U.S. military has been very careful to say that the current offensive by the Iraqi government in southern Iraq was simply "enforcement of the law in Basra." It was not directed against the Mahdi Army, the militia run by radical Shi'ite cleric (and political powerhouse) Moqtada al-Sadr, whose seven-month-old cease-fire has been key to the success of the American surge. The U.S. maintained that line today even though it was clear that the "criminal gangs" battling government forces in Basra were identifiable...
Bergner said the U.S. was showing "restraint" in its actions against militants in Baghdad, saying it was directing its efforts against "criminals who dishonor Sadr's pledge of honor." Sadr's Mahdi Army, though, has always reserved the right to defend itself, raising the question of whether mainstream elements of the militia were standing and fighting in Basra without officially rejecting Sadr's directive...
Three American civilians in the Zone were seriously wounded in Wednesday's attacks. Throughout the day and into the evening the sound of mortars landing inside the compound boomed through Baghdad, a reminder of the militia's power to ratchet up its attacks if the cease-fire continues to fray...
...Embassy Public Affairs officer Phil Reeker said five government employees have been seriously injured so far; one American civilian died of his injuries on Wednesday. Another embassy employee reportedly died on Thursday. A city-wide curfew has now been reimposed on Baghdad...
Against the dull thud-boom of rocket hits and ascending plumes of black smoke, Baghdad's fortified Green Zone rumbled with running soldiers and intermittent cries of "duck and take cover!" The area, where the U.S. embassy compound is located, is taking the worst bombardment in almost nine months. The American-backed Arabic news network al-Hura reported 18 rocket hits in and around the Green Zone on Thursday alone. Since Sunday, dozens have rained down on the compound, which houses both government and diplomatic offices...