Near Sadr City, U.S. Troops Await Attack

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-me/2007/jan/08/010803681.html

A mock bumper sticker affixed to a door in the headquarters building of a U.S. outpost in eastern Baghdad proclaims "I Love Sadr City." Soldiers smile when they see it. They know the opposite is true.

During one tense mission recently, U.S. Army soldiers rolled up to the edge of the Shiite slum in hulking Stryker armored vehicles. They never set foot inside, but they still got a sharp reaction.

A burst of gunfire rang out moments after soldiers got out, prompting one squad to take cover in the home of an unemployed man named Abdul-Kareem Hassan Dhamin.

More shooting followed, but then, just as suddenly, it stopped.

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[Selatius]

1. I could be wrong, but I believe Sadr City is a district of 2,000,000 people.

Baghdad is, what, 8,000,000 in size? There's thousands of Mahdi Army militiamen in that district, and each apartment building could easily be turned into a mini-fortress.