U.S. Captures Muqtada Al-Sadr Lieutenant

U.S. Captures Muqtada Al-Sadr Lieutenant
By MARIAM FAM, Associated Press Writer

NAJAF, Iraq - U.S. troops scored a major success against Shiite militiamen Wednesday, arresting a key lieutenant of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Clashes in the holy city killed 24 people and wounded nearly 50.

In Baghdad, masked gunmen killed two technicians from a Russian energy firm as they headed to work at a power station. Their company said it would evacuate all staff from Iraq — another blow to efforts to restore the country's infrastructure.

Shiite militant Riyadh al-Nouri offered no resistance when American troops raided his home in Najaf about 4 a.m., according to U.S. and militia officials.

The arrest is expected to be a setback to al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army, which has been fighting coalition forces since early April in Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and in the Shiite heartland south of the capital.

In addition to the Najaf clashes, U.S. officials said American soldiers fought 21 small engagements with militiamen in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood late Tuesday and early Wednesday. No casualty figures were released.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040526/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=1480

Everything is just sure to be all peachy from this point forward.