Deal Reached to End Fighting in Sadr City

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U.S. soldiers stand near a hole that damaged the roof of the BBC headquarters in Baghdad after a rocket attack Friday, May 9, 2008. A rocket hit the BBC office in Baghdad on Friday but no one was wounded in the attack, the British broadcaster said. (AP Photo/Sabah al-Bazee,Pool) (Sabah Al-bazee - AP)

U.S. Army soldier gives directions to a crane operator, not seen, during the construction of a concrete wall running through the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Baghdad, on Friday, May 9, 2008. The 12-foot concrete barrier is being built along a main street dividing southern Sadr city from north, where Mahdi army fighters are concentrated. U.S. commanders hope the wall will effectively cut off insurgents ability to move freely around Baghdad and hamper their ability to fire rockets at the Green Zone, where Government offices are concentrated. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek) (Petr David Josek - AP)

Iraqis chant anti-U.S. slogans after a prayer in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, May 9, 2008. Thousands of people have fled the fierce battles between the US and Iraqi forces and the Mahdi army in Sadr City. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

Men gather at the site of an airstrike site in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Hospitals in Sadr City reported Saturday that at least 13 people had been killed and 77 wounded in the past 24 hours during the clashes between the U.S. and Iraqi government forces and the Mahdi army fighters. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

The wife of Jassim Abdul Hussein, right, mourns over his body at a morgue in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, Iraq, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Hussein was killed during clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City on Friday. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani) (Alaa Al-marjani - AP)

Relatives march during the funeral of Sattar Khalaf and Mohammed Jassim, who were killed in an airstrike in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Hospitals in Sadr City reported Saturday that at least 13 people had been killed and 77 wounded in the past 24 hours during the clashes between the U.S. and Iraqi government forces and the Mahdi army fighters. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

Relatives mourn for Sattar Khalaf, who was killed in an airstrike in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Hospitals in Sadr City reported Saturday that at least 13 people had been killed and 77 wounded in the past 24 hours during the clashes between the US and Iraqi government forces and the Mahdi army fighters. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

A woman reacts at the scene of an airstrike in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, May 10, 2008. Hospitals in Sadr City reported Saturday that at least 13 people had been killed and 77 wounded in the past 24 hours, during the clashes between the U.S. and Iraqi government forces and the Mahdi army fighters. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) (Karim Kadim - AP)

A U.S. Army soldier patrols the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, where Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia has been fighting Shiite-led, U.S. backed forces. (By Petr David Josek -- Associated Press)

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Jalal said a curfew imposed on the city when the operation began would be lifted gradually as security improved.

The Iraqi government in recent weeks sent additional troops to Mosul to prepare for the operation. The U.S. military augmented its forces in Nineveh in February after attacks in the area increased.

U.S. military officials say fighting insurgents in northern Iraq is particularly challenging because unlike militias, they seldom engage in open fighting. Gathering intelligence on insurgent groups in such places as Mosul has also been difficult because many residents are afraid to speak out, the officials say.

Mosul is home to many former Baathist leaders, and its proximity to the Syrian border makes it a gateway to other Iraqi cities.

"It is easy to hide here, and it is easy to transit out of here," Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said.

Londoño reported from Mosul. Special correspondents Zaid Sabah in Baghdad and Dlovan Brwari in Mosul contributed to this report.