March 23 – May 12, 2008 · Baghdad Theater
March 23 – May 12, 2008
Sadr City — a Shia slum of 2.5 million people in northeastern Baghdad, stronghold of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army — becomes a battleground when Iraqi government forces attempt to dismantle militia control. US Army engineers construct a concrete barrier wall across the city's southern boundary to separate the militia stronghold from the rest of Baghdad, while American and Iraqi forces fight daily skirmishes with JAM fighters launching rockets and mortars into the Green Zone. After 49 days, a ceasefire is negotiated and the wall construction completed.
Commanders