Published: May 20, 2008 07:27 am         

Iraqi troops enter capital’s Shiite stronghold

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi military spokesman says Iraqi troops have moved into Baghdad’s Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City to seize control.

Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi says the troops are entering Sadr City as part of a truce reached last week with anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia holds sway in the sprawling district.

Al-Moussawi says there has been no violence since the troops began deploying in parts of Sadr City before dawn on Tuesday.

Until now, U.S. and Iraqi forces have stayed on the edges of the eastern Baghdad neighborhood, home to more than 2 million people. The fragile truce has been frequently shaken by skirmishes with militiamen.