Sadr forces push terror offensive

Mr. Allawi has been carrying out a two-pronged attack. His officials have permitted US forces to retake the Shrine of Imam Ali from the Mahdi Army, setting the stage for what may become a last stand for insurgents. The site is considered holy by Iraq's Shiite majority.

In Baghdad's Sadr City, fighting has been sporadic but fierce. At Sadr General Hospital, 51 civilians have been treated for wounds from shrapnel, gunshot, and rocket or mortar explosions. Eight more, including two children, have died of their wounds, hospital officials say.

One patient, Hattam Wanes Yasir, tearfully describes how his nine family members were wounded Tuesday night when a rocket or mortar fell onto his home in Sadr City.

"I don't know where the rocket came from," he says, adding that his son Hassan was killed in the attack. "If we were fighting we might feel less sorry, because at least we had accepted the risks, but we were doing nothing but sitting at home."

Teenager Haider Ali was with friends when they heard an explosion in their neighborhood. Ignoring his parents' pleas, he ran out to see the burning hulk of a Bradley Fighting Machine that had been immobilized by Mahdi Army fire. Then the Bradley opened fire to force enemy fighters to retreat. Haider and his two friends were severely wounded.

Now Haider lies unconscious. His family fans him and mops his brow. Doctors say he may not live. One friend, 11-year-old Kara Ali, has died. Another, Hussein Ali, has severe head injuries.

"Sometimes children are curious," says his cousin Samir Muaffaq, "they want to go out into the street. So when the Americans just spray bullets through the street, they kill many innocent people."

Knowing that civilian casualties are not in US interests, US forces announced a curfew Monday from 4 p.m. until 8 a.m. Tuesday, Mahdi Army officials called their own curfew, starting at 1 p.m., when their soldiers finish lunch and take naps. US forces are increasingly launching attacks at this time to take advantage of Mahdi Army vulnerability. Mahdi Army fighters want civilians off the streets to provide a clear line of fire.

Sadr City residents are starting to turn their anger on the Mahdi Army. "Families are getting upset with the Mahdi Army, because they are shooting at nothing," says a doctor at Sadr General.

Allawi should tap into this civilian anger, says Mr. Dodge. "What they need to do is set aside Sadr City [and] isolate it from the rest of the country, " he says. "The gamble is that the only ones with the organizational capability are the fighters."

• Material from wire services was used in this report.

Page: 1 | 2