Breakdown of weapons found in Sadr City from May 20 to June 2. Click to view.

The US military continues to target the Mahdi Army in Baghdad and the South as the Iraqi Army works to destroy Mahdi Army weapons caches inside Sadr City. US troops killed four Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad while 39 Mahdi Army operatives were captured in Baghdad, Al Kut, Samawah, and Basrah.

US soldiers killed four Mahdi Army fighters during two separate engagements in the New Baghdad district. Two of the Mahdi fighters were killed after attacking US soldiers in the Shawra Uldir neighborhood with small-arms fire. The other two were killed after attacking US forces with rocket propelled grenades in the same neighborhood.

Fighting in the New Baghdad district has increased since the Sadrist movement negotiated a deal with the Iraqi government that allowed the Iraqi Army to move into Sadr City. US and Iraqi troops have clashed numerous with the Mahdi Army in New Baghdad, which borders Sadr City to the east.

In Al Kut, Coalition special forces teams captured a Mahdi Army Special Groups leader who is "suspected of being one of the top criminal leaders in Al Kut," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. "The man has been identified as involved in the murdering of Iraqis and attacking of Coalition forces." Five of his associates were also captured during the raid.

Al Kut is a strategic distribution hub for Iranian-made weapons, such as rockets, mortars, and the deadly explosively formed projectile roadside bombs. The Ramazan Corps, the Iranian Qods Force command assigned to direct operations inside Iraq, pushes weapons across the border from Mehran in Iran to Badrah and Al Kut in Wasit province. These weapons are warehoused in Badrah and Al Kut and distributed to Baghdad and cities in the center-south cities such as Hillah, Diwaniyah, and Baghdad. The Mahdi Army then uses these weapons to conduct attacks against Iraqi security forces and Iraqi officials, and Coalition forces.

Further south, the Iraqi security forces are pushing against the Mahdi Army. In Basrah, police arrested 16 wanted Mahdi Army fighters and seized several weapons caches. In Samawah, Iraqi soldiers captured 16 Mahdi Army fighters.

Basrah is a strategic hub for the Ramazan Corps, while Samawah is a tactical distribution hub. The Iraqi security forces are currently conducting operations in Basrah and along the Iranian border.

Iraqi Army continues to dismantle caches in Sadr City

The cease-fire between the Iraqi government and Sadrist movement in Sadr City has not stopped the security forces from targeting Mahdi Army weapons caches. Between May 20 and June 2, the Iraqi Army found 94 weapons caches containing 175 roadside bombs, 76 of the deadly Iranian-manufactured explosively formed penetrator roadside bombs, more than 340 mortar rounds, and "numerous" quantities of explosives and bomb-making AK-47s, sniper rifles, machine guns, and ammunition.

Multinational Forces Iraq varies the classification of EFPs and IEDs between medium and heavy weapons, depending on the configuration.

Over the past 24 hours, Iraqi soldiers and police have uncovered eight more caches of varying sizes. Iraqi security forces found anti-aircraft rockets, anti-tank rockets, RPGs, AK-47s, sniper rifles, mortars, rockets, and various other weapons and bomb-making materials.