U.S. begins to reconstruct firefight with militia : "The militia's occupation of police stations was the reason why the U.S. patrols rolled into Sadr City in the first place.
U.S. military officials had heard that the cleric's followers in the holy city of Najaf, 80 miles south of Baghdad, had attacked a coalition base during a protest at about noon Sunday.
They said they also discovered through intelligence that Sadr was directing his followers in the capital to seize police stations and government buildings. U.S. officials sent in troops to watch the buildings and disarm militia members.
The first ambush killed about four soldiers and injured several others, officials said. Outnumbered, the soldiers fell back nearly 1,000 feet to an abandoned building and dug in there, Dempsey said.
Over the next 2 1/2 hours, quick-response forces with Bradley fighting vehicles rolled into the area, only to be pinned down by heavy fire from black-clad militia members hiding on rooftops and in alleyways, officials said. One armored personnel vehicle and one truck were destroyed, and casualties mounted.
American troops managed to reach their wounded and began pulling them out.
Military officials said they got an unexpected assist from some Iraqi civilians who offered their cars and, in one instance, a bus to take wounded troops to safety."
U.S. military officials had heard that the cleric's followers in the holy city of Najaf, 80 miles south of Baghdad, had attacked a coalition base during a protest at about noon Sunday.
They said they also discovered through intelligence that Sadr was directing his followers in the capital to seize police stations and government buildings. U.S. officials sent in troops to watch the buildings and disarm militia members.
The first ambush killed about four soldiers and injured several others, officials said. Outnumbered, the soldiers fell back nearly 1,000 feet to an abandoned building and dug in there, Dempsey said.
Over the next 2 1/2 hours, quick-response forces with Bradley fighting vehicles rolled into the area, only to be pinned down by heavy fire from black-clad militia members hiding on rooftops and in alleyways, officials said. One armored personnel vehicle and one truck were destroyed, and casualties mounted.
American troops managed to reach their wounded and began pulling them out.
Military officials said they got an unexpected assist from some Iraqi civilians who offered their cars and, in one instance, a bus to take wounded troops to safety."
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