LATEST BREAKING NEWS ON IRAQ FROM MAJOR NEWS SOURCES

The following is a list of major news stories breaking from Iraq on Wednesday. You can click on the part in "BLUE" to read each story in more depth.


New York TimesCrackdown on Militias May Add to Instability in Iraq
A crackdown on the Mahdi Army militia is creating potentially destabilizing political and military tensions in Iraq, pitting a stronger government alliance against the force that has won past showdowns: the street power wielded by the radical cleric Moktada al-Sadr.

New York TimesAttacks in Baghdad Spiked in March, U.S. Data Show
After an overall decline in attacks against civilians and American and Iraqi security forces in Baghdad over the past several months, the number more than doubled in March from the previous month, according to statistics compiled by the American military in Baghdad.
NewsweekSacrificed to the Surge

America's efforts to disengage from Iraq have led to some messy compromises. After years of trying without success to wrest Sunni areas from Qaeda control, U.S. ground commanders appear to have done it at last—but only by granting sweeping powers to sheiks and local leaders who can keep the peace.

News Current Time in Baghdad: 11:55:36 AM
04/08/08 AP: Iraq Bans Vehicles in Baghdad Wednesday
Unauthorized vehicles will be banned in Baghdad from 5 a.m. to midnight on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the city's capture by U.S. troops. The decision by the Iraqi military command for Baghdad was announced on Iraqi state TV.

04/08/08 AP: Iraqi Army, Mahdi Militiamen Clash
Iraqi government forces and Shiite militia fighters clashed anew Tuesday despite a government ultimatum to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to either disband his Mahdi Army or give up politics.

04/08/08 Reuters: Sadr postpones march, threatens to lift ceasefire
Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has threatened to lift a ceasefire of his Mehdi Army militia while indefinitely postponing a mass anti-US demonstration. Despite the ceasefire which Sadr called last August, his followers have clashed...

04/08/08 Reuters: Roadside bomb wounds 16 people in Tuz Khurmato
A roadside bomb wounded 16 people in a commercial area in Tuz Khurmato, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

04/08/08 Reuters: Eight people wounded in clashes in Sadr City
Eight people were wounded in clashes in Sadr City on Tuesday and another seven people were wounded in other districts of eastern Baghdad, police said.

04/08/08 Reuters: Roadside bomb wounds 3 policemen in eastern Baghdad
A roadside bomb wounded three policemen, two traffic policemen and four civilians on Tuesday in the Zayouna district, in eastern Baghdad, police said.

04/08/08 Reuters: Weapons cache found, 10 militants killed
Iraqi security forces, backed by U.S. forces, recovered a weapons cache and killed 10 militants in separate operations on Thursday and Friday in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

04/08/08 Reuters: Hospitals receive seven dead people
The two main hospitals in Sadr City, eastern Baghdad, received 12 wounded on Tuesday, hospital officials said. On Monday the hospitals received seven dead people and 143 wounded.

04/08/08 KUNA: Explosion kills seven Iraqis in Iraq
Seven Iraqis were killed including five children, and 11 others were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in Diyala province on Tuesday targeting a passenger bus at Balad ruz, 60 kilometers north of Baquba...

04/08/08 NPR: Families Caught in Shiite Power Struggle in Iraq
Fighting between Shiite-led government forces and Shiite militia loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is threatening any gains won by the U.S.-led troop surge in Iraq. Shiite families are caught in the middle of the ongoing intra-Shiite power struggle.