"Massive Crackdown" On Sadrists By Iraq/US Forces

A new phase of the surge?

US and Iraqi troops have arrested dozens of militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in a massive crackdown in the central city of Diwaniyah, officials said Monday.

Hussain al-Buderi, a member of the Qadisiyah provincial council, said that 49 militants, including four leaders, from the Sadr group were arrested since Saturday when Operation Lion's Leap was launched targeting Shiite militants.

Witnesses said the city of more than one million people was under curfew and US aircraft were dropping leaflets urging locals to cooperate in locating militant hideouts.

Sadr's office in the town of Nafar, south of Diwaniyah, was also raided on Monday as part of the crackdown, Buderi told AFP.

Diwaniyah's police chief Major General Ali Akmoosh said the assault also led to the dismissal of 70 policemen, including some officers.

"They have been dismissed for supporting armed gangs," he told AFP.

posted by Ace at 06:19 PM

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