Whatever they are, they are Islamo-facists bad guys and need to be killed in vast numbers. We are doing this right now and that's good.
That being said, we need to take on the Mahdi Army, too.
That's certainly true, but there are very different implications depending on whether these were Sunnis or Shiites.
If the battle is against Sunni insurgents, then this is basically more of the same, except that the Sunnis appear to have penetrated about 100 miles south of their base in the Sunni Triangle. That being said, it's great that they're being annihilated even if it doesn't really make much difference in the grand scheme of things (though had the terrorists been successful it would've).
If the battle is against a splinter Shiite militia that has been previously ignored, then that suggests a new get-tough approach and an eventual settling of scores with Sadr. That would also be great, though this would ultimately be something of a sideshow practice run, kind of like getting the small-fry out of the way before going after the big boys. The real battle awaits.
And, looking at the above reports, it seems to be both taking place and some level of confusion over which is which.