BAGHDAD, Iraq – The fight with renegade Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is not over and the U.S. military must retake his stronghold in Baghdad's Sadr City slum, a top U.S. commander said Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of the Army's 1st Cavalry Division, said action is necessary before the volatile cleric has a chance to rebuild his Mahdi militia, which was devastated in recent fighting.
"He's decided the best thing for him to do is to go underground and regroup," Chiarelli told The Associated Press. "We're not going to allow that to happen."
The Mahdi Army hasn't launched a significant attack on U.S. troops in two days, Chiarelli said. The rebel leader has not made a public appearance since the remnants of his militia departed Najaf's Imam Ali Shrine after a peace agreement last week.
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If it comes to a showdown with the U.S. military in Sadr City, no ultra-sensitive Muslim holy places will get in the Army's way, Chiarelli said, harking to how sensitivities over damaging the revered Imam Ali Shrine prevented a full-bore attack on al-Sadr's militia in Najaf.
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