IRAQI FORCES RUN AWAY AGAIN

This is getting to be a pattern. BTW, wasn't Betraeus once in charge of training these clowns?

Company of Iraqi troops abandon position after attack
By SLOBODAN LEKIC – 1 hour ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — A company of government troops abandoned its positions in Sadr City when the forces came under attack from Shiite militiamen who took advantage of a sandstorm to attack, police said Friday.

The police officer said militiamen belonging to the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr launched their attack shortly before midnight on army positions in Sadr City, a sprawling slum area of some 2.5 million people in eastern Baghdad.

The company responsible for that section abandoned their positions, including their command post in al-Nasir police station, he said.

The attack in Sadr City occurred late Thursday while Baghdad was blanketed by one of the worst sandstorms in months. The thick clouds of dust reduced visibility and forced the closure of the international airport. It also appeared to affect military flights.

Apparently taking advantage of the reduced aerial activity, militants also repeatedly shelled the Green Zone that houses diplomatic missions and much of the Iraqi government.