Siege of Sadr City
The siege of Sadr City was a blockade of the Shi'a district of northeastern Baghdad carried out by US and Iraqi government forces in an attempt to destroy the main power base of the insurgent Mahdi Army in Baghdad. The siege began on 4 April 2004 – later dubbed "Black Sunday"[4] – with an uprising against the Coalition Provisional Authority following the government banning of a newspaper published by Muqtada Al-Sadr's Sadrist Movement. The most intense periods of fighting in Sadr City occurred during the first uprising in April 2004, the second in August the same year, during the sectarian conflict that gripped Baghdad in late 2006, during the Iraq War troop surge of 2007, and during the spring fighting of 2008.
Aftermath[edit]
By May 21, 2008, Iraqi Army units had secured or captured all of Sadr City, receiving little resistance as the 10,000 man force supported by tanks rolled past barricades and into the center of the city. However, Mahdi Army fighters remained in Sadr City, blended in the civilian population, with their weapons.