US Builds Giant Wall in Sadr City

(NEWSER) - An explosion ripped through a market in Baghdad’s Sadr City today killing 52 and injuring 104, Reuters reports. Though Iraq has seen markedly less violence in the past year, today’s bombing is part of a wave of attacks ahead of the US military’s scheduled withdrawal from Iraqi cities next week. Sadr City is home to supporters of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, though it is patrolled by Iraqi government forces. More»

Baghdad battles against Shiite militia take heavy toll

(NEWSER) - The death of a US soldier in a roadside blast in Baghdad yesterday brought the death toll for US troops to 19 in a single week—the highest so far this year. Almost all of the deaths have been in the Iraqi capital, where US and Iraqi forces are battling the Mahdi Army. Troops are also fighting Sunni insurgents in northern Iraq, AP reports. More»

Women and children may counted among the dead

(NEWSER) - The US killed 30 militants and detained another dozen in an overnight air strike on a military stronghold in a Shiite district of Baghdad. Witnesses counted women and children among the slain, though the US claims all 30 were insurgents linked to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. More»

Shiites, Muqtada al-Sadr's office targeted

(NEWSER) - Bombs exploded throughout Baghdad today, targeting Shiite mosques and neighborhoods, including the office of anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. A neighborhood in Anbar province was also hit with six roadside bombs. At least 61 people have been killed and nearly 112 wounded, CNN reports. More»

Infrastructure remains sub-standard in much of Iraq

(NEWSER) - Residents of the Sadr City slum of Baghdad have come to accept raw sewage, bubbling to the surface from broken pipes, as a part of daily life, Bloomberg reports. And Sadr City is hardly an oddity—despite 6 years and billions of American dollars, much of Iraq still lacks reliable electricity and running water. More»