Military: U.S. troops kill 15 gunmen in Sadr City

04/23/2008

At least 22 wounded as fighting rages on in Baghdad militia stronghold



BAGHDAD (REUTERS) -- U.S. forces said they killed 15 gunmen overnight in Shiite areas of Baghdad, where fighting has raged for weeks between militiamen loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and security forces.

In a statement, the U.S. military said Wednesday that ground forces and aircraft had been involved in several attacks. The first began around dusk on Tuesday, the military said.

One hospital in Sadr City, the cleric's stronghold in eastern Baghdad, said it had received five bodies overnight from clashes and air strikes. It said 22 people had been wounded.

Hundreds have died in and around Sadr City since Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a crackdown on the cleric's Mahdi Army militia last month.

Al-Sadr has demanded a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and threatened over the weekend to wage "open war" if al-Maliki did not call off the campaign against his fighters in Baghdad, the southern oil-hub of Basra and other Shiite areas.

Since al-Sadr issued his threat on Saturday, the U.S. military says it has killed around 65 militiamen in Sadr City and other Shiite parts of Baghdad.