LAT: A Tenuous Peace in Sadr City (900 militia, civilians, 8 US dead)

[DeepModem Mom]

THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ
A Tenuous Peace in Sadr City
An anti-American cleric called a truce that has held for two weeks in the Shiite area of Baghdad. The relative calm elicits disbelief among troops.

By Patrick J. McDonnell, Times Staff Writer

BAGHDAD — After 10 weeks of fierce combat, an odd sense of normality has returned to this capital's most battle-scarred neighborhood.

The break in running clashes between U.S. troops and Shiite Muslim militiamen loyal to outspoken cleric Muqtada Sadr has brought a tenuous peace to the sprawling district known as Sadr City. By most accounts, Sadr's declaration of a truce two weeks ago was a collateral benefit of Iraq's return to a semblance of self-rule.

The militantly anti-U.S. cleric has expressed a strong desire that his popular movement be represented in national elections scheduled for January. Sadr wants a place at the bargaining table as a political leader, not a warlord....

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In one-sided battles, U.S. troops have killed as many as 900 militiamen in Sadr City since April. THERE ARE NO ACCURATE FIGURES FOR CIVILIAN CASUALTIES. Eight U.S. soldiers also were killed, all but one on the first day of the fighting.

U.S. troops who have resumed regular foot patrols in the community of about 2.5 million have hardly been shot at in recent days....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-sadr8jul08,1,1005200.story?coll=la-home-headlines