Sadr City

Sadr City () is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built in 1959 by Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim and later unofficially renamed Sadr City after deceased Shia leader Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr.

Sadr City (or more accurately Thawra District) is one of nine administrative districts in Baghdad. A public housing project neglected by Saddam Hussein, Sadr City holds more than 3 millions Shiite residents.

History

In 1982, following the Baath Party coup, the district was renamed Saddam City, in honor of Saddam Hussein, the Baath Party leader. After the foreign occupation of Baghdad in April 2003, the district was unofficially renamed Sadr City after deceased shiite leader Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr.

2003

In April, 2003, the US Army 2d Squadron, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment established their headquarters at the abandoned Sumer cigarette factory located on the Eastern side of Sadr City. In honor of the history of the factory, the military named their new camp Camp Marlboro. In addition to the 800 Soldiers in the Squadron, the camp housed 120 military police of the 549th Military Police Company, 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company of the 2-37th Armored Regiment (2-37 AR), two six man teams of Civil Affairs Soldiers from the 490th Civil Affairs Battalion and the 411th Civil Affairs Battalion, and two three man PSYOP teams from 361st PSYOP Company. The Crusader Company of 2-37 Armor later replaced the 3rd platoon as they were sent to rejoin their company at Camp War Eagle.

During the fall and winter of 2003, American forces focused on rebuilding civilian infrastructure and training local leaders in democracy. District and neighborhood councils were established, giving the residents of Sadr City representation in the new Iraqi government. The municipal building became the centerpiece of the reconstruction effort, and it was the site of a forward outpost of American soldiers that met daily with council members and citizens. Progress was slow due to escalating tensions and violence, and attacks against the American military increased significantly in late 2003. The Mahdi Army attempted to capture several soldiers during the ambush, but they were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts to obtain hostages. This sparked fierce urban fighting between the Mahdi Army and newly arrived soldiers of the B company 20th Engineer Batallion 2-5 , 2-8 and 1-12 CAV of the 1st Cavalry Division (1CD); alongside the just relieved 2-37 AR of the 1st Armored Division.

In late 2004 the Mahdi Army enacted a cease-fire with U.S. troops, and offered to help repair and rebuild the city's main infrastructure which was leaving millions without electricity, water or sewage. On October 10, Camp Marlboro was hit by three mortars launched from within the city, which saw the U.S. beef up security and attach an additional 28 tanks and 14 Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the camp. The following day, on October 11, the Weapons Handover Program began in the city, which was designed to purchase weapons from militants.

2005

In August 2005 the Iraqi government and the U.S. Army locked down Sadr City for three days to search houses for hostages and death squads. Some hostages were found and freed. Multiple death squad leaders were arrested. In these three days, the number of murders in Baghdad reached the lowest level ever comparing to the average of the previous months of the U.S.-led war.

2006

On November 23, 2006, a series of car bombs exploded, followed by mortar attacks, which killed at least 215 people. See 23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings for further details.

2008 fighting

In March 2008, during the Battle of Basra, clashes erupted in Sadr City between the U.S. and the Mahdi Army. At that time, Sadr City was secured with the use of Strykers from the 1st Squadron, 2d Stryker Cavalry Regiment led by LTC Daniel Barnett. The fighting grew so intense that armored vehicles as well as M2A3 Bradley IFV and M1A1/2 Abrams MBT were called in for assistance. The Mahdi Army relied heavily in the use of improvised explosive devices allegedly smuggled from Iran and engaged U.S forces with sniper fire and intense small arms engagements in the heavily congested urban area. The U.S. launched at least one air strike, killing 10 reported militants. As of March 29, 2008, about 75 Iraqis have been killed and 500 injured. The Iraq Health Ministry claims these are all civilians, but the U.S. disputes this.

The Mahdi Army intensified rocket attacks on the Green Zone and other U.S. bases, killing at least three American soldiers and several civilians. On April 6 Iraqi and U.S. forces moved into the southern third of Sadr City to prevent rocket and mortar fire being launched from the area. 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment then took control of southern Sadr City and hosted Charlie Company, 1-68 Armor, Bravo Company, 1-14 Infantry and Delta Company, 4-64 Armor along with U.S. combat engineers from the 3rd Brigade Heavy Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division who began construction of a concrete barrier along Al-Quds street to seal the southern third of the city off and allow reconstruction to take place. On April 1, 2010, D/4-64 and B/1-14 killed 28 Mahdi Fighters just north of the concrete barrier. Over the next month, the Mahdi Army launched a number of attacks on the troops building the barrier, but sustained heavy losses. Heavy Engineer support for building the wall was provided by 821st Horizontal Engineer Company, 769th Eng. Bn., 35th Eng. Bde.

On May 10, a ceasefire was ordered by Muqtada Al-Sadr, allowing Iraqi troops into all of Sadr City. On May 20, in an entirely Iraqi-planned and executed operation, six battalions of Iraqi troops, including troops from the 1st (Quick Reaction Force) division stationed in Al-Anbar and armored forces from the 9th Division based in Taji, operating without the involvement of U.S. ground forces, pushed deep into Sadr City. The Iraqi Security Forces met little resistance in moving through Sadr City and took up positions formerly occupied by the Mahdi Army, including the Imam Ali and Al-Sadr hospitals and Al-Sadr's political office. Sadr City then became the main base for Shi'a Insurgent group Kata'ib Hezbollah, an offshoot of the Mahdi Army.

Recent history

Voters in Sadr City allowed the Iraqi National Alliance to make huge gains in provincial elections in 2009 and parliamentary elections in 2010.

See also

References

External links

Category:Populated places established in 1959 Category:Administrative districts in Baghdad