BAGHDAD, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- At least 16 suspected members of Shiite death squads were detained Tuesday in early morning raids in the Sadr City neighborhood in Baghdad.
U.S. and Iraqi troops carried out the raids jointly, The New York Times reported. Those arrested were allegedly rogue members of the Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry told the Times that 23 people were detained, 10 of them police officers who allegedly helped the Mahdi Army.
Sadr has been cooperating with a security crackdown in Baghdad, including giving information on followers who have gone too far. U.S. leaders have been pushing the Iraqi leaders to disband the militias, but many Shiites say they are a necessary safeguard against Sunni violence.
