Sunday, April 6, 2008

KILLINGS ON THE RISE AGAIN IN IRAQ

There was a brief lull in the slaughter of innocent civilians after the "Battle for Basra" ended last week, but on Sunday 20 people were reported killed in Sadr City, a Baghdad neighborhood.

Sadr City clashes leave 20 dead

by Salam Faraj 30 minutes ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Fierce clashes between Shiite gunmen and US forces in the Iraqi capital's Sadr City district killed at least 20 people on Sunday, amid calls from Iraqi leaders for all militias to be disbanded.

In northern Iraq, meanwhile, Iraq's security forces freed 42 university students who had been kidnapped by gunmen, a local army commander said.

Officials from Iraq's security and defence ministries said women and children were among the dead and 52 wounded in the Sadr City clashes that broke out at around midnight and continued sporadically through the day.

The US military said it carried out an air strike in Sadr City at around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) in which nine "criminals" were killed.

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