Sadr forces lose 18 more and 77 collaborators arrested

Bill Roggio:

US and Iraqi troops continue to battle Mahdi Army fighters in Sadr City and greater Baghdad. Eighteen Mahdi Army fighters were killed and 11 captured during raids and attacks, while the Iraqi government arrested 42 policemen for colluding with "outlaws" and arrested 35 hospital workers for treating Mahdi Army fighters.

The Mahdi Army continues to attack US and Iraqi forces as they erect the barrier on Qods Street, which divides the southern third from the northern portion of Sadr City. US and Iraqi troops responded, killing 18 Mahdi Army fighters and capturing 11 throughout Baghdad.

US and Iraqi troops and US air weapons teams killed 11 Mahdi Army fighters as they attacked barrier emplacement teams and planted roadside bombs in Sadr City on the night of May 5 and the morning of May 6. Iraqi soldiers and police also uncovered numerous weapons caches in northern and eastern Baghdad. In one raid, Iraqi police discovered a weapons cache in the courtyard of the Imam Ali Mosque in the Al Ghadeer neighborhood in New Baghdad (number 31 on map). "The [National Police] found five explosively formed projectiles, two improvised explosive devices, five rocket rails, three grenades and numerous rounds of various ammunitions," Multinational Forces Iraq reported.

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There is much more.

I have noted before how unreliable reports of Iraqi hospitals have been during the war. These arrest hint at the problem. The arrest of the police also indicate how Sadr has attempted to infiltrate law enforcement. What the Basra operation and the operations in Sadr City have done is reveal this infiltration and removed the disloyal police and medical staff. Sadr's resistance continues to be a disaster for him.