Sadrists, Iraqi officials may meet

BAGHDAD, April 30 (UPI) -- Leaders representing rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr are expected to meet with Iraqi leaders to discuss the violence gripping Sadr City in Baghdad, officials said.

The delegation of Sadrists is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the coming days but both sides indicated they are far from reaching a truce, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Maliki has demanded that Sadr disband the Mehdi Army militia, a move unlikely to happen.

Meanwhile, recent fierce fighting in Sadr City underscores the deepening U.S. combat role since Maliki began his offensive against Shiite militias. Maliki's drive against militias, primarily the Mehdi Army, has drawn U.S. ground and air presence to levels and battlefields reminiscent of the earlier years of the five-year war, the Post said.

More than 500 people have been killed and 2,100 injured in Sadr City since fighting resurfaced in late March, lawmakers loyal to Sadr said. Residents of Sadr City said Tuesday's death toll was at least 50.

"Sadr City right now is like a city of ghosts," Abu Haider al-Bahadili, a Mehdi Army fighter, told the Post. "It has turned from a city into a field of battle."