US and Iraqi troops will soon launch a major sweep in the Shia militia bastion of Sadr City, military officials said on Thursday, a pivotal moment for the make-or-break security crackdown in Baghdad.
American-led forces have conducted targeted raids in the Mehdi Army militia stronghold of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr aimed at death squad leaders, but have so far held off from a concerted push into the teeming slum.
In the new campaign, US and Iraqi troops will set up joint checkpoints in Sadr City and conduct large-scale door-to-door operations on houses and buildings, a significant escalation in a plan regarded as the last chance to avert sectarian civil war.
Washington calls the Mehdi Army the greatest threat to peace in Iraq. Sadr is a key political ally of Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the raids could test Maliki's pledge to target all militants regardless of sectarian affiliation.
Details of the plan emerged during a meeting of senior US and Iraqi military commanders on Thursday in Sadr City, which was also attended by the mayor of Sadr City.
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