US Military: "We Will Destroy This Cleric's Army"

The United States military yesterday vowed to destroy the army of the radical Shiite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, which has fought running battles with coalition troops.

"We will attack to destroy the al-Mahdi army," said Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the US military’s deputy head of operations, speaking in Baghdad. "Those attacks will be deliberate, precise, and they will be successful."

He said US forces were hunting down the al-Mahdi army in the Shiite neighbourhood of Sadr City in Baghdad.

And he called on Sadr, who is named in an arrest warrant for involvement in the murder of a rival Shiite cleric, to surrender.

"He can turn himself into a local Iraqi police station and he can face justice."

But within hours, Brig-Gen Kimmitt’s stance was undermined by members of the Iraqi Governing Council, who said they had discussed a proposal to drop the prosecution of Sadr if he agreed to halt a Shiite uprising.

The council added that using more force against the cleric and his followers could lead to greater civilian casualties and bolster his support.

"Iraq could refrain from pursuing the arrest warrant in return for Moqtada renouncing violence," said one Shiite council member.