BAGHDAD — Iraq’s leaders faced their gravest challenge in months Tuesday as Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr battled government forces for control of the southern oil capital, fought U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad and unleashed rockets on the Green Zone.
Armed Mahdi Army militiamen appeared on some Baghdad streets for the first time in more than six months, as al-Sadr’s followers announced a nationwide campaign of strikes and demonstrations to protest a government crackdown on their movement. Merchants shuttered their shops in commercial districts in several Baghdad neighborhoods and many schools closed.
The burgeoning crisis — part of an intense power struggle among Shiite political factions — has major implications for the United States. An escalation could unravel the cease-fire that al-Sadr proclaimed in August. A resumption of fighting by his militia could kill more U.S. soldiers and threaten, at least in the short run, the security gains Washington hailed as a sign that Iraq is on the road to recovery.
U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters fought Shiite militiamen in Baghdad’s Sadr City district after the local office of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party came under attack, U.S. officials said. Residents of the area reported intermittent explosions and gunfire in the area late Tuesday.
An American soldier was killed in fighting Tuesday afternoon in Baghdad, the U.S. military said. No further details were released, and it was unclear whether Shiite militiamen were responsible.
Although all sides appeared reluctant to trigger a conflagration, Brig. Gen. Ed Cardon, assistant commander of the U.S. task force operating south of Baghdad, said the situation in the south was “very complicated” and “the potential for miscalculation is high.”
Underscoring the serious stakes at play, al-Maliki, a Shiite, remained in the southern city of Basra to command the security operation. Sweeps were launched at dawn to rid the city of militias and criminal gangs that ruled the streets even before the British handed over control to Iraqis in December.
U.S. and Iraqi officials believe some factions of al-Sadr’s movement maintain close ties with Iran, which provides them with weapons, money and training. Iran denies the allegation.
Basra, located near the Iranian border about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, is the center of the country’s vast oil industry. Stability in the city is essential if Iraq is to attract huge investments needed to restore its neglected oil fields and export facilities.
Throughout the day, the sounds of explosions and machine-gunfire echoed through Basra’s streets as Iraqi soldiers and police fought the Mahdi Army in at least four neighborhoods.
At least 31 people were killed and 88 wounded, according to police and hospital officials.
Iraqi police and soldiers prevented journalists from reaching the areas of heaviest fighting, and it was unclear which side had the upper hand by sundown.
Iraqi military spokesman Col. Karim al-Zaidi acknowledged that government troops were facing stiff resistance.
In Baghdad, several salvos of rockets were fired at the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies. There were no reports of casualties, but the blasts sent people scurrying for concrete bunkers.
Police also reported fighting between Iraqi security forces and Mahdi militiamen in the Shiite cities of Hillah and Kut, which lies on a major route between Baghdad and the Iranian border.
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