Iraq Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta said Iraqi and coalition
security forces have removed hundreds of roadside bombs and other unexploded
ordnance from Sadr City, with a population of three million. Atta said the
operation has helped in efforts to normalize the situation in the eastern
Baghdad district.
    Neither Atta nor Driscoll discussed reports of Iraq Army and police
withdrawing from positions in Sadr City in late April. The withdrawals were
said to have taken place amid withering Mahdi Army rocket fire, which has
also targeted Baghdad's Green Zone, which contains the U.S. embassy and
Iraqi government.
    Officials said the coalition and Baghdad government intend to follow up
counter-insurgency operations with reconstruction in Basra and Sadr City.
They said the government has allocated more than $100 million for Basra and
$150 million for Sadr City.
    The Iraq Army has also expanded its civil-military operations center in
Basra, officials said. The center, which contains U.S. and British advisers,
was designed to directs reconstruction efforts across the city.
    In Baghdad, the U.S. military and Iraq Army have targeted the
Iranian-financed Special Groups, said to be a splinter of the Mahdi Army.
From April 25 through April 28, at least 42 Special Groups fighters were
killed, officials said.