Iraqi forces deployed in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad under a truce deal have seized a large haul of weapons and bombs in search operations, the US military said yesterday.
Two caches containing 360 assault rifles, 12 sniper rifles, anti-tank mines, flak vests, 100 rocket-propelled grenades and multiple grenade launchers were seized from a mosque and from nearby the building, the military said.
Most of the guns were found in the mosque, it said in a statement.
“Iraqi Army soldiers discovered the third weapons cache in a local hospital in Sadr City,” the statement said. “To date, Operation Peace in Sadr City has seized 38 caches.”
Iraqi troops deployed in the area last week and fanned deep inside the 27km² rectangular-shaped Shiite bastion on the northeast edge of Baghdad without meeting resistance from militants.
The Mehdi Army movement of anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had fought running street battles with US troops for seven weeks since the end of March before the truce halted the violence and cleared the way for the Iraqi army deployment.
Elsewhere in Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, weekend searches saw the army detain more than 400 people for questioning.
Sadrists have accused the Iraqi army of violating the truce agreement, but said the Shiite militia will honor the deal, which halted fighting that killed hundreds of people and wounded many more.
The Iraqi deployment dubbed “Operation Peace” took place with the approval of the Sadrists in areas previously regarded as Mehdi Army territory.
ANGER: A video shared online showed residents in a neighborhood confronting the national security minister, attempting to drag her toward floodwaters Argentina’s port city of Bahia Blanca has been “destroyed” after being pummeled by a year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, killing 13 and driving hundreds from their homes, authorities said on Saturday. Two young girls — reportedly aged four and one — were missing after possibly being swept away by floodwaters in the wake of Friday’s storm. The deluge left hospital rooms underwater, turned neighborhoods into islands and cut electricity to swaths of the city. Argentine Minister of National Security Patricia Bullrich said Bahia Blanca was “destroyed.” The death toll rose to 13 on Saturday, up from 10 on Friday, authorities
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
RARE EVENT: While some cultures have a negative view of eclipses, others see them as a chance to show how people can work together, a scientist said Stargazers across a swathe of the world marveled at a dramatic red “Blood Moon” during a rare total lunar eclipse in the early hours of yesterday morning. The celestial spectacle was visible in the Americas and Pacific and Atlantic oceans, as well as in the westernmost parts of Europe and Africa. The phenomenon happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up, causing our planet to cast a giant shadow across its satellite. But as the Earth’s shadow crept across the moon, it did not entirely blot out its white glow — instead the moon glowed a reddish color. This is because the
Local officials from Russia’s ruling party have caused controversy by presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders, an appliance widely used to describe Russia’s brutal tactics on the front line. The United Russia party in the northern Murmansk region posted photographs on social media showing officials smiling as they visited bereaved mothers with gifts of flowers and boxed meat grinders for International Women’s Day on Saturday, which is widely celebrated in Russia. The post included a message thanking the “dear moms” for their “strength of spirit and the love you put into bringing up your sons.” It
RSS