Militiamen return to Sadr City

Sharon Behn, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Shi'ite militiamen, who melted away from Baghdad when U.S. and Iraqi troops began their security crackdown seven weeks ago, are rolling back into the city with fresh Iranian training, Iraqi and other officials said. It is not clear whether the radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in control of the newly trained group (...) The Iraqi National Police are coordinating with the U.S. in Sadr City with the approval of Sheik al-Sadr, said one U.S. official working in the area to train the police force. "There is a tacit political agreement here, but no one is sure how long it will hold," he said. "There may be elements that are unhappy with the level of cooperation."...

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