BAGHDAD – A surface-to-air missile was fired Saturday at a U.S. Apache helicopter flying over the Sadr City section of Baghdad, U.S. military officials said yesterday. The attack, which had not been disclosed previously, represents the first time that a helicopter has come under missile attack in Sadr City since fighting erupted in the Shiite enclave in March.
The missile missed the aircraft. But the attack was sufficiently worrisome that the U.S. military changed the route of an aerial tour of Baghdad it had arranged for a group of reporters, TV cameramen and photographers yesterday. Two helicopters were to fly over or near Sadr City, but an official said the route had been changed because of the missile threat.
The U.S. military has made extensive use of Apache helicopters to try to stop militias from firing rockets at the Green Zone and to protect U.S. and Iraqi troops in Sadr City from Shiite fighters armed with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and roadside bombs.
The helicopters have taken a heavy toll on the militia fighters. In an effort to blunt the U.S. advantage in airpower, the militias recently waited until dust storms grounded the Apaches to unleash heavy rocket attacks on the Green Zone.
The missile, described as an SA-7 shoulder-fired missile, was fired at one of the helicopters. It exploded in the air and neither aircraft was damaged.
But the attack suggests the militias may intend to make a more determined challenge to the U.S. dominance in the air.
Muqtada al-Sadr's movement and the main Shiite coalition within Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government formally signed an agreement yesterday to end fighting in Sadr City, saying they hoped it would end seven weeks of fighting.
Al-Sadr's representatives and the rival United Iraqi Alliance agreed to institute the four-day cease-fire starting Sunday, but talks over the details of the truce were not finished until yesterday. The deal allows Iraqi forces to take over security in the militia stronghold of Sadr City tomorrow.
It is unclear whether a cease-fire will take hold. Officials in al-Sadr's movement said they would permit confiscation of heavy weapons and arrests of wanted men, but they warned against any attempt to detain all Mahdi army fighters.
Despite the agreement to end the fighting, there was no sign of a cease-fire along Al Quds Street. Militia fighters fired at Iraqi forces near the wall that U.S. forces are building. The Iraqi soldiers shot back, and an Apache helicopter fired a missile at a militia position.
But in some sections of Sadr City, residents seem relaxed, walking on the street and shopping. Lines of cars were waiting to for gas. The lines vanished a couple of weeks ago, because people were afraid to remain in the street for long periods of time.
