Sadr's militia defeated: US
From correspondents in Baghdad
June 6, 2004
THE US military said today it had defeated the outlawed militia of flamboyant Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr across central Iraq, and denied that there was any truce with the radical preacher.
"The Moqtada militia is militarily defeated. We have killed scores of them over the last few weeks, and that is in Najaf alone," Brigadier General Mark Hertling, one of the top US commanders in charge of Najaf, told AFP.
"Over the past several days, Moqtada's militia has lost much of their stomach for fighting," he said, also declaring victory in the central cities of Kut, Diwaniyah and Karbala, dogged by fighting over the past two months.
"We have also destroyed their weapons stores and their offensive capability," he said.
"What remains of them, which is a very small force, will take advantage of the governor's announcement to disperse if not disband."
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