Fighting rages in Sadr City

2008-04-08 11:35

Baghdad - Fierce fighting raged on Tuesday as US and Iraqi forces battled heavily armed Shi'ite militiamen in their Baghdad bastion of Sadr City for a third straight day, an AFP correspondent and witnesses said.

Witnesses said fierce clashes erupted soon after midnight as American tanks attempted to push into Sadr City.

They were met by fighters of the Mahdi Army militia of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr armed with rockets, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, witnesses said.

"We did not sleep all night because of the heavy fire," said Mustafa Mohammed, a resident of the sprawling eastern Baghdad district of some two million people.

"My baby was screaming. My grandmother is sick and I wasn't able to take her to hospital because I'm under siege. We just can't move as our house is on the frontline."

Mohammed said many families have left their homes and are staying with relatives deeper inside the Sadr City district.

An AFP correspondent said fighting broke out around midnight as Mahdi Army fighters deployed along minor roads after planting bombs on the main routes to halt the advance of the American and Iraqi forces.

Loud explosions

US helicopters could be seen hovering above the vast neighbourhood, and loud explosions were heard.

More than 30 people have been killed in Sadr City since the fighting broke out in earnest on Sunday.

Iraqi and US forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the Mahdi Army since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on Shi'ite militiamen last month.

On Monday, Maliki warned the Sadr group that it would be banned from participating in elections unless the militia is disbanded.

- AFP