BAGHDAD — Iraqi soldiers rolled through a Shiite militia stronghold in Basra on Wednesday, drawing scattered bombs and bullets that wounded a camera operator for a U.S.-funded TV station and narrowly missed the commander of government troops in the city.
Followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accused the army of violating an Iranian-brokered agreement that ended last week’s fighting, which erupted in Basra and quickly engulfed Baghdad and major cities of the Shiite south.
Those complaints raised concern that fighting could flare again as the Iraqi government and Shiite militias maneuver for control of Basra — the country’s oil capital 340 miles southeast of Baghdad and a major commercial center of 2 million people.
Iraqi troops met no significant resistance as a dozen-vehicle convoy drove Wednesday into the Hayaniyah district of central Basra, scene of fierce clashes last week with al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army fighters.
Troops set up checkpoints and searched a few houses before leaving the neighborhood after a couple of hours, witnesses said.
One bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying the local Iraqi army commander, Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Fireji, but caused no injuries, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari.
The Basra joint operations center announced that Iraqi soldiers had detained two suspected militia figures in the Qibla area. A gunbattle erupted during the raid and an Iraqi army vehicle was set on fire.
Nevertheless, Basra’s provincial governor, Mohammed al-Waili, said the overall situation in the oil-rich city was “very calm and stable” and that normalcy was returning.
“We issued orders to all government employees to go to their offices starting from today and they will be obliged to work their full schedule,” he said.
But Basra residents contacted by telephone said many people were fearful that the truce might not last.
Underscoring those fears, clashes broke out hours later after Iraqi troops raided Basra’s Maakal area, another Mahdi Army stronghold, according to local police who could not immediately provide further details.
A Mahdi Army spokesman in Basra, known as Abu Liqa al-Basri, said Wednesday that the militiamen were keeping a low profile on al-Sadr’s orders. He accused Iraqi security forces of creating a “crisis of trust” by mounting “provocative raids” and arresting al-Sadr supporters.
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