April was the cruelest month in seven months in terms of the numbers of both civilians and U.S. troops who lost their lives in Iraq. A spate of deadly bombings on Wednesday killed four U.S. soldiers, bringing the monthlong total of American dead to 50, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s crackdown on Shiite followers of Moqtada al-Sadr made for more intense violence, particularly in Basra and Sadr City, which contributed to a reported 969 Iraqi civilian deaths.
Los Angeles Times:
U.S. commanders say the Iraqi military and police are becoming more capable. Though they acknowledge that the government crackdown was poorly planned at the start, they say the Iraqi military quickly mobilized reinforcements and regained control of the southern oil hub of Basra with the help of U.S. and British air power.
But the government did not appear to have anticipated the fierce backlash from militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr in Baghdad, where clashes continue daily.
Many of the militiamen’s attacks are directed against U.S. forces, who have moved into the southern portion of the cleric’s stronghold in the capital, the slum known as Sadr City, in a bid to stop rockets and mortar rounds from being fired toward the troops’ bases and the city’s fortified Green Zone.
U.S. soldiers in Sadr City have faced assaults by militiamen wielding rocket-propelled grenades on roads laced with bombs and have responded with airstrikes and tank fire.
The military says it makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties; however, residents are often caught in the crossfire.
The number of civilian deaths reported by the Iraqi government for April was 969, the highest since August, when 1,773 were recorded killed. At least 28 Iraqi soldiers and 69 policemen also were reported killed. Officials at two hospitals in Sadr City alone said they had received 321 bodies in the last month.
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By David, May 2 at 11:16 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
We’re winning! Just as long as we can kill more Iraqis than they can Americans, we’re winning! Go team! USA, USA, USA. Fight, fight, fight. WIN!!!!
Report thisBy TDoff, May 2 at 3:58 am #
Hot Damn! We got those terrist insurgents right where we want them. They’re gonna get tired soon, they’re shooting up so many of our boys, and they’re gonna run out of bullets and IED’s. All we gotta do is ‘Hang in there’, and pretty soon, you’ll see, we’ll end up with peace and security, and law and order, and a democracy in Iraq, and the world will beat a path to our door over the caskets of our troops, to pay homage to Bush and McCain for their great foresight, courage with other men’s lives, and their incredible ability to bullshit and ignore reality.
Report thisBy Don Stivers, May 1 at 8:57 pm #
Our Jack Ass Leaders forget that it will be THESE people who will reign terror on United States soil in 20 years and we will think we are being slapped in the face for no reason at all. Nobody questioned why a small group of men came together to take down the World Trade Center. Many innocents died on 9/11 because of the meddling by our very own government in affairs of others. We, as a nation, will pay for this war of occupation for years to come and those that are guilty of bringing terror to those people of Iraq will go unpunished...God Forbid.
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