Mortars rock Green Zone in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, March 31 (UPI) -- A mortar attack on the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad wounded four civilians Monday, two severely, an Iraqi government official said.

Also reported was damage to a number of government vehicles and buildings, The Washington Post reported.

In Basra, meanwhile, officials reported the situation was calm the day after rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr told his his Mahdi Army militia to lay down their arms. Sadr's orders to his followers Sunday helped bring an end to six days of fighting between militias and U.S. and Iraqi forces provided the government agrees to release detainees and grant amnesty to Sadr's fighters, among other demands, the Post reported.

Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Mohammad, Iraq's chief of military operations, acknowledged security forces weren't unprepared for the reaction they encountered to their offensive in Basra. During a news conference, he said the security forces had planned to fight criminals who had taken control of the city -- not the Mahdi Army.

"Frankly, this operation has taken more time than it should have," the general said.