Coalition Forces Move Into Sadr City
Greyhawk

(And other news from the first four days of March in Iraq)

A new phase in the Baghdad security plan begins:

Hundreds of U.S. soldiers entered the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City on Sunday in the first major push into the area since an American-led security sweep began last month around Baghdad.

Soldiers conducted house-to-house searches ...

The Chicago Tribune offers a more complete account: ...

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More from Anbar
Greyhawk

This is included in the report below [above], but deserves additional attention. From Bill Roggio

Thursday's battle in the village of Amiriya, just south of Fallujah, highlights the ongoing battle between the Sunni tribes and al-Qaeda in Anbar province. At least 50 al-Qaeda were killed and 80 captured in the largest battles between al-Qaeda and Iraqi police, Army and the Anbar Salvation Council in Anbar province this year. ...

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Sadr City Sweep Underway
Ed Morrissey

The US and Iraqi armies began their sweep of Sadr City in force today, tackling the toughest nut of the new Baghdad surge strategy. First indications show that the Mahdi Army has melted away:

[...]

The new effort included a raid on a mosque in Baghdad. The US quickly announced that mosque raids were only to be used as a last resort; otherwise, the military would respect the sanctity of religious places. In this case, the US captured three terrorists attempting to hide, including a suspected bomb-maker. ...

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Iraqi security forces: al-Qaeda leader detained

Tikrit - A suspected leader of the group Islamic State in Iraq, which has ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, was detained in northern Iraq on Sunday, Iraqi security forces reported.

Muharib Mohammed Abdullah, aka Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, was arrested in a joint raid by Iraqi and US soldiers in the city of Duluiya.

'This is a great success for the Iraqi security forces, comparable to the killing of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi,' the Salaheddin provincial administration in the town of Tikrit said in a statement.  ...

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Looks Like US Nabbed Latest al Qaeda Leader In Iraq
A J Strata

More great news from Iraq, and another blow to the Democrats’ surrender monkey plan as al Qaeda’s successor to Zarqawi was captured Sunday.

A suspected leader of the group Islamic State in Iraq, which has ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, was detained in northern Iraq on Sunday, Iraqi security forces reported.

Muharib Mohammed Abdullah, aka Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, was arrested in a joint raid by Iraqi and US soldiers in the city of Duluiya.

“This is a great success for the Iraqi security forces, comparable to the killing of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi,” the Salaheddin provincial administration in the town of Tikrit said in a statement.

Someone needs to remind Murtha, Pelosi and Reid these kinds of successes are not possible if we turn tail and have our troops hide out in Okinawa. And pity the liberal fool who claims NOW is the time to pull the funds from our effort to squash al Qaeda in Iraq and finally get some stability for the country. In other news, the US surge is now purging Sadr city as well:

More than 1,000 US and Iraqi troops launched a pivotal incursion into a Shi’ite militia bastion in Baghdad yesterday, meeting no resistance as they searched homes for illegal weapons and carried out patrols. ...

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Capture of Terrorists in Iraq:
Big Fish Captured or Another False Alarm?
By Andrew Cochran

Multinational Forces Iraq has announced the capture of over 50 terrorists in Salah ad Din province in northern Iraq: "Soldiers from Task Force 1-319 and the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division detained more than 50 insurgents during three days of operations focused on terrorist cells in Abu Ajeel, Wynot, and Owja near Tikrit in Salah ad Din." Forty of the terrorists were part of an IED cell, while ten others were "involved with financing and executing attacks on coalition forces."

The local Iraqi administration promptly announced that among those captured was the head of the "Islamic State of Iraq," Muharib Mohammed Abdullah, also known as Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (Bill Roggio has more on him here). But U.S. officials have not confirmed that as of this post, hours after the Iraqi announcement, so we should be increasingly skeptical until our forces issue a confirmation or denial. It shouldn't take long since our forces were on the raid. ...

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False Sense of Security
Jules Crittenden

Big push into Sadr City is underway, with some squawking by pols but no shooting. The AP is of the opinion that the Mahdi Army’s cooperation is vital to the success of this operation. I’d suggest that the Mahdi Army’s cooperation will render it a failure, if they are allowed to run away and live to murder and terrorize the population another day.  A lot of strange characterizations of events that don’t jive with my recollection:   

Al-Sadr withdrew his militia under intense pressure from the government, but there were worries that a large-scale military push without political clearance could bring a backlash and jeopardize the entire security effort.

Strange there are no quotes whatsoever to back up any of that. All the general says is “the really bad folks have gone into hiding.” Which sounds a little like he’s disappointed. ...

Some observations by Omar at Iraq the Model:

The Mehdi army is not responding to the (Sadr City) raids with fire, but they are trying to undermine the security plan by spreading rumors about alleged crimes committed by US soldiers, specifically against the Shia. The latest of these rumors was a ridiculous one I heard yesterday from a taxi driver from Sadr city. His story, quite similar to one told by a Sadr city council member, is that US soldiers are raiding Shia homes, arresting innocent civilians, and then dumping them at night near strongholds of Sunni insurgents, blindfolded and handcuffed so that the insurgents would find them defenseless and slaughter them!

The Mahdi Army remains the enemy, and whatever deals US and Iraqi forces and pols may have cut with them, sooner or later they have to be dealt with.  OK, for some good news, including a new Giuliani-like “quality of life” push: ...