Death toll in Sadr City fighting approaching 1,000

If only one bullet were fired today , may it be for "Moqtada al-sadr"

The China News.Net
Wednesday 30th April, 2008

Iraqi officials have revised sharply upward the death toll from fighting that began last month in the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City, in Baghdad.

A spokesman for the Iraqi government's Baghdad security operations says 925 people have been killed in Sadr City. The spokesman, Tahseen al-Sheikhly, said Wednesday 2,600 others have been wounded.

Sadr City has been the scene of fierce clashes pitting U.S. and Iraqi forces against Shi'ite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

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The death toll announced Wednesday is much higher than previous estimates, which indicated about 400 people had been killed in Sadr City in the past month.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has vowed to disarm militias by force and disband the Shi'ite Mahdi Army, Sunni insurgent groups and al-Qaida in Iraq.

Mr. Maliki also ordered a crackdown last month on Sadr's Mahdi Army in the southern city of Basra.

In other news, the U.S. military says Iraqi police are conducting an investigation along a route often used by morning commuters in northern Kirkuk City, and outside shops in the city. Two bomb blasts there on Tuesday wounded 14 civilians and three Iraqi Army personnel. Reports say another civilian may have died.