Militants clash with US troops
25/03/2008 21:06  - (SA)  

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Baghdad - Fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr clashed with Iraqi and US forces in their Baghdad bastion of Sadr City on Tuesday, a security official and witnesses told AFP.

A witness said troops had surrounded the sprawling impoverished district and that armed Shi'ite fighters were roaming the streets.

Helicopters were hovering over the area and the sounds of firing could be heard, he said.

An official with the defence ministry said the Baghdad Operation Command had imposed an indefinite curfew in the neighbourhood from 19:00 on Tuesday.

The clashes are the first in Sadr City between the Shi'ite militia and US troops since October 21, when around 50 people were killed during US raids targeting an Iranian-linked insurgent.

Another security official said similar clashes also broke out in other Baghdad neighbourhoods, such as Abu Chir and Al-Baya on Tuesday.

Fierce clashes broke out earlier Tuesday between Mahdi Army militiamen and Iraqi forces in the southern city of Basra which killed seven people and wounded dozens more.

 

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