A senior U.S. general in Iraq vowed on Wednesday to "destroy" a Shiite militia led by Muqtada al-Sadr that has launched a wave of attacks against occupation forces in southern cities.
"We will attack to destroy the al-Mahdi Army," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters. "Those attacks will be deliberate, precise and they will be successful."
According to him, U.S. forces were trying to hunt down members of al-Mahdi Army in the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad, and he called on al-Sadr to surrender.
"If he wants to calm the situation...he can turn himself in to a local Iraqi police station and he can face justice," Kimmitt said, according to The AP.
Meanwhile, American soldiers battled with resistance fighters in two central Iraqi towns Wednesday.
Fighting was spreading in several directions at once, with Shiite militiamen attacking occupation troops and taking control of several southern cities.
Marines have also launched a major operation in the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad.
New fighting erupted in the a Ramadi neighborhood on Wednesday, witnesses said.
Clashes continued overnight between militiamen from al-Mahdi Army and occupation troops in Kut, Karbala and the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad. At least 12 Iraqis were killed in Kut and four in Baghdad, along with two Iranians caught in the crossfire in Karbala, according to doctors.
The al-Mahdi Army appeared to be in control of Kut and Kufa, occupying government buildings and roaming the streets, as Iraqi police stood aside. Witnesses reported that a British civilian working for a private security company was killed when militiamen took over the company's office in Kut. (Albawaba.com)
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