page_title: Iraq spring fighting of 2008
section_title: Post-operation Basra fighting
hierarchical_section_title: Iraq spring fighting of 2008 / The Campaign / Post-operation Basra fighting
caption_attribution_description: Members of the Hilla Iraqi SWAT team burst into a compound to capture terrorists during a training demonstration Jan. 24, 2006. The team trains nearly every day and conducts missions independently of Coalition Forces. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jorge Gomez
context_page_description: The Iraq Spring Fighting of 2008 was a series of clashes between the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi Army supported by coalition forces, in southern Iraq and Baghdad, that began with an Iraqi offensive in Basra. The fighting followed a lull in the Civil war in Iraq and was the most serious crisis since October 2007.
context_section_description: 1 April: Gunmen are reportedly off the streets and Iraqis cautiously emerge back on the streets of Basra with opening markets and men cleaning up trash from the roadsides. Maliki claims military "security, stability and success" and vows to continue operations with a seven-point plan, including recruiting 10,000 new Iraqi security forces members and moving to enhance public services in Basra. 2500 citizens of Basra have already volunteered to work with the Iraqi army since the start of the operation, according to a US military spokesman in Baghdad.
  Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Mohammad, director of military operations at Iraq's Defense Ministry, said the Iraqi military planned to seal and search every neighbourhood to capture suspected criminals and confiscate weapons. Sadr vows to continue fight against occupation forces "in a peaceful manner" and plans mass demonstrations against the Coalition on 9 April.
  The Hillah Special Weapons and Tactics team detained 20 vehicle smugglers in Basra as part of "continuing deliberate operations against criminals to restore a rule of law", according to a US military spokesman.
  The British defence minister announces a pause in troop reductions.
  2 April: Lt. Gen. Mohan al-Furayji leads a 12 vehicle Iraqi Army convoy though the Hayaniya district, a Sadr stronghold in central Basra, in an apparent show of force. A roadside bomb explodes near the convoy, but there were no casualties. A reporter for an Iraqi TV station was shot in the leg while filming the convoy. Afterwards gunmen attacked the convoy and one Iraqi Army Humvee was torched. Overall, Basra was reportedly relatively calm for a third straight day.
  U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said in a Pentagon press briefing that the Basra operation is still ongoing and that it is premature to comment on the results of the operation.
  A US Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) attacked a technical in the Halaf area of Basra, killing 6 "armed criminals" after heavy machine gun fire was reported.
  3 April: A U.S. airstrike destroyed a house in Basra killing two militant snipers and at least six civilians. Iraqi Security Forces, advised by U.S. Special Forces, killed seven criminal members and detained 16 others during three separate operations in Basra directed by the Iraqi government.
  Muqtada al-Sadr offers the Iraqi government to help purge militia members from Iraqi security forces. Sadr also angrily criticises the Iraqi government for "denying it sent envoys to him"
  4 April: Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki orders his security forces to stop raids on suspected Shiite militiamen to "give time to those who are repentant" to lay down their weapons. The PM's order did not mention the Mahdi Army by name. Al-Maliki also ordered a resumption of reconstruction projects and services in the areas of fighting. 3,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen, including soldiers from the Iraqi Army 1st Division moved into Hayyaniyah to distribute food and water to Iraqis who had been without supplies for several days.
  Coalition forces attacked Mahdi Army members west of Basra and ordered an air strike during the ensuing clashes. Two children were killed along with another person.
  In a Coalition raid during the night 10 militants were killed and two weapons caches, including 60 mm mortar rounds, rocket propelled grenades and explosively formed penetrators, were found.
  5 April: A U.S. airstrike in the Hayaniyah district hit a militant mortar position killing one gunman.
  6 April: The Iraqi Political Council for National Security, with representatives from all major political parties holds a meeting and agrees unanimously to a resolution with a number of points and actions necessary to "end the existence of this gang" (the Mahdi Army). Among those points is a decision that the Sadr trend will not have the right to participate in the political process or take part in the provincial elections unless they disband the Mahdi army. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki continues to deny that any concessions were made or that Iran was involved in negotiating Muqtada al
caption: The Hillah SWAT Team in training in 2006. The unit was redeployed to Basra following operations in al-Kut and Hillah. On 1 April, they detained 20 vehicle smugglers in Basra.
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