US jets bomb Shi'ite militants
2008-03-29 16:49
Basra - US jets bombed Shi'ite militants in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra on Saturday afternoon as the death toll there from five days of fighting continues to rise, the British military said.
At around 09:30 GMT warplanes dropped two bombs on militia strongholds in the Qarmat Ali neighbourhood of northern Basra, Major Tom Holloway told AFP.
He said five days of fighting between Iraqi troops and Shi'ite militants have killed at least 50 people and injured 300.
Earlier on Saturday US-led coalition planes carried out another airstrike in the Al-Baath neighbourhood of Basra, killing eight people, an AFP journalist reported from the scene.
US military told AFP the strike did not kill any civilians but targeted an "enemy mortar team".
The Saturday afternoon strike was the third one reported on the position of Shi'ite fighters since the first overnight.
Holloway said the British military also struck an "enemy mortar team" in the Al-Halaf neighbourhood of Basra.
He said the strikes were part of coalition support to the operation in Basra.
Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, has been engulfed in fierce clashes between Iraqi forces and Shiite gunmen since Tuesday.