IRAQ:More than 1,000 US and Iraqi troops met no resistance yesterday when they searched homes for illegal weapons and carried out patrols in a Shia militia stronghold in Baghdad.
The operations in Sadr City, bastion of the Mehdi army of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, could test Iraqi and US determination to enforce a security crackdown regarded as a last attempt to stop Iraq sliding into all-out sectarian civil war.
"Deliberate clearing operations have begun in Sadr City," said US military spokesman Lieut-Col Christopher Garver. More raids would follow in the coming days, he said.
At a conference aimed at speeding up reconciliation among Iraq's warring factions, prime minister Nuri al- Maliki said political consensus could be achieved only if Iraq was stable.
"We present in our hand a green olive branch and in the other hand we present the law," Mr Maliki said. "Operation Imposing Law started in Baghdad; it will cover every inch of Iraq."
Mr Maliki said he had been pleased with the early results of the security crackdown which has reduced sectarian death squad killings. - (Reuters)