Iraqi military pushes into militant stronghold

AMARAH, Iraq — A mile-long column of Iraqi military vehicles stretched through this city's main street Sunday in a show of force against one of the last strongholds of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.

"This is a center for the Sadrists, and this is their last city," said Iraqi National Police Gen. Dhafer Abed al-Mohammadawi, who commands a brigade of Iraqi soldiers readying to retake this southern Iraqi town. "The state is on the way to ending the militia's rule."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has warned militants here to surrender their weapons by Wednesday or face attack. By Thursday, al-Maliki said, Amarah will be in government hands.

Amarah, population 450,000, is the latest focal point of a government campaign that began with a spring offensive against Shiite militias in Basra and the Sadr City area of Baghdad.

Since then, al-Sadr agreed to a cease-fire. Over the weekend, however, he announced plans to form a militia to battle U.S. forces. A top aide said Sunday that his followers will run candidates on other party tickets in upcoming Iraqi provincial elections — all part of a sweeping strategic change by the militant cleric.