Moqtadr al-Sadr's gang on the ropes?

Karbala is quiet. In Kufa U.S. forces expanded an offensive against rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr on Sunday by pushing into his stronghold of Kufa for the first time, as his armed followers vanished from the streets of this Shiite holy city.

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U.S. military officers involved in the operation say the assault in Kufa, which began before dawn Sunday and continued into the night, is the latest phase in a campaign that has squeezed Sadr forces out of Kut, Diwaniyah and, over the weekend, the holy city of Karbala.

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Since announcing the arrest warrant against him, U.S. military officials have continued to allow Sadr to travel between Najaf and Kufa to deliver his Friday sermons. But this past Friday, U.S. troops fired on a convoy of cars that resembled Sadr's, hours after he had called on Iraqis to rise up against the occupation during his sermon. U.S. troops captured Mohammed Tabtabaie, a top Sadr aide, and killed his driver in the firefight.