
Al-Sadr’s gunmen
From CNN, :
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Coalition forces have killed 20 to 25 Iraqi militia members loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr during an ongoing operation to disarm insurgents in Karbala, according to senior coalition military official.
Meanwhile, four Filipino contractors have died in a mortar attack on a U.S. air base in northern Iraq. …
The coalition forces, supported by the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and Iraqi security forces, also seized weapons and ammunition, including pipe bombs and rocket launchers.
A U.S. commander in Iraq has urged religious and political leaders to seek a “political outcome” to the standoff between U.S. troops and al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia in two other Iraqi cities — Najaf and Kufa.
Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey said he has “opened a window” for negotiations.