No stopping till Sadr City secure, says Iraq

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi forces will battle militiamen in Sadr City relentlessly until the sprawling Shiite district of east Baghdad has been cleared of gunmen, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh vowed on Sunday.

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Dabbagh told a news conference that the security forces were not specifically targeting the Mahdi Army in its nationwide crackdown on militiamen, which began in the southern port city of Basra on March 25.


"The government doesn't send its forces after any political bloc," he said. "Anyone who is carrying a weapon illegally will be prosecuted. It is not dependent on their political persuasion, whether they be in the Sadrist trend or any other bloc."

US military spokesman Rear Admiral Patrick Driscoll told the joint news conference that those being targeted are "individuals who illegally carry weapons and launch attacks on law-abiding citizens and security forces."


Driscoll said that operations against "illegally armed gangs, extortion groups and other criminals" are continuing in Basra.



Read more: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/080413/world/iraq_unrest_us_baghdad_10