Truce with militants holding in Sadr City

BAGHDAD — Iraqi army troops have encountered little resistance during operations near the fortified front line in Baghdad's Sadr City district, the U.S. military reported Saturday, signaling that a shaky truce with the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Shiite militia was holding.

"In the last 72 hours we have seen a significant reduction in attacks against Iraqi security forces and coalition forces," said Col. John Hort, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Al-Sadr's office said that it welcomed the presence of Iraqi troops in Sadr City and that two members of the office met with the soldiers Saturday morning. It was not clear whether the soldiers and al-Sadr officials met deep in the northern part of the district where al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia holds sway.

A tentative cease-fire was reached a few days ago in Sadr City, where there has been heavy fighting for more than six weeks between militiamen and Iraqi government troops backed by the U.S. military.

Al-Sadr released a statement saying that he had appointed a committee with the power to make a more lasting deal with the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of Shiite parties that is acting as a guarantor of the government's commitment to the truce. He urged people to obey the instructions of the committee.

On Friday, Iraqi troops removed 50 roadside bombs in Sadr City without incident, and other early forays seemed to go well. But the mood became more tense Saturday. There was small-arms fire toward nightfall, and U.S. military teams working with the Iraqi army counseled the Iraqis to act with restraint and avoid the risk of calling in airstrikes in support.

The Americans were taking extra precautions to be sure they did not disturb the cease-fire. They received orders to open fire only in self-defense, and even then not to shoot until they had positively identified who was attacking, according to a New York Times photographer traveling with them.

Meanwhile, a U.S. soldier desecrated the Quran at a shooting range in Radwaniyah, south of the Baghdad airport, a strongly Sunni Arab area, an American spokesman said Saturday. The episode was reported Friday by Mohammed al-Daiyni, a Parliament member from the National Dialogue Front, one of the Sunni parties.

"The residents found the holy Quran riddled with bullets after the withdrawal of the American forces," al-Daiyni said.

Col. Bill Bruckner, the public affairs officer for Multi-National Corps Iraq, said in an e-mail message that U.S. commanders had confirmed that a Quran was found at the range with bullet holes and graffiti inside the cover, and he called the events "serious and deeply troubling." The message said that commanders had expressed their "deep regret" to local leaders. It also said, "They have also undertaken disciplinary action against the soldier who was involved, and he has been removed from Iraq."

In Baghdad, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made a surprise visit Saturday, meeting with the Iraqi Parliament speaker, Mahmoud Mashhadani, as well as Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the senior U.S. commander in Iraq.

In Diyala Province, north of Baghdad, another in a string of suicide bombings carried out by women resulted in the death of the bomber, the police said. The woman tried to detonate her explosives after being stopped near an office for the Awakening Council there, and was shot, setting off the explosives. Awakening groups involve Sunni tribal and former insurgent leaders who are working with the Americans.

When police patrols arrived to investigate the scene, a car parked on the side of the road exploded, killing three civilians and injuring 15 others, according to a police official.