U.S., Iraqi troops raid Sadr City again

[cal04]

Source: Associated Press

U.S. and Iraqi troops raided Sadr City on Sunday, targeting Shiite insurgent cells in the Baghdad slum for a second day, while British forces stepped up pressure on Shiite militants in the southern city of Basra.

The raids came a day before Iranian and U.S. diplomats were to hold rare talks in Baghdad over how to end the violence in Iraq.

U.S. officials accuse Shiite-ruled Iran of training, financing and arming militants here, in a bid to fan sectarian tensions. Iran denies that and blames the presence of U.S. forces here for the violence.

Meanwhile, in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, 70 police officers resigned Sunday morning and handed over their weapons. Police said they cited their fears of being targeted by anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militants.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070527/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[Kagemusha]

1. Hmm, that Kut part seems to be an ominous sign.

Seems like now that Sadr's back, some are scrambling to not get on his bad side...