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Iraqi fighting claims 43 lives
06/04/2004 11:30 - (SA)
Baghdad - At least 39 Iraqis were killed and 126 others wounded in clashes between Shiite militiamen and US soldiers over the past 48 hours, the head of Ath-Thawra hospital in Sadr City suburb said on Tuesday.
In addition, four US soldiers were killed in clashes on Monday in al-Anbar province, west of the Iraqi capital, the US military said.
"The release of more details about the incident could place US marines and sailors at greater risk," a statement said.
The statement, datelined "Camp Fallujah", did not specify the exact place where the soldiers were killed.
US marines on Monday launched a major offensive in Fallujah, where most anti-coalition attacks occur in al-Anbar province, after four American security contractors were brutally murdered last week in the restive Iraqi town.
The deaths raise to 613 the number of US soldiers killed in action in Iraq since the US-led coalition invaded the country in March 2003 to oust president Saddam Hussein's regime.
On Sunday, eight US soldiers were killed and more than two dozen wounded in clashes with the militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr in the impoverished northern suburb of Sadr City.
Fighting in Amara
Meanwhile, 12 Iraqis have been killed and 27 others wounded in the past 48 hours in clashes in the southeastern city of Amara, between British troops and backers of a radical Shiite Muslim cleric, a local official said on Tuesday.
"We have counted up until now 12 dead and 27 wounded among the population," said Dr Jamel Shiaa al-Uraybi, director of Amara province's health department.
Fresh clashes erupted in the city on Monday shortly after 22:00 pm, and continued through to Tuesday morning, according to residents.
- AFP
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