Iraqi Troops Clash With Shiite Militia

Iraqi men display artillery holes in bed mats and blankets from an intense firefight between insurgents and Iraqi and coalition soldiers in Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite slum in Baghdad. The pre-dawn battle lasted 43 minutes. (By Karim Kadim -- Associated Press)

Another Mahdi fighter, Qais Shawkat, 56, said U.S. and Iraqi forces attacked a funeral tent for a militiaman who died recently, killing one man and wounding several others. Iraqi television showed crowds of people escorting minivans carrying away coffins, and the wreckage of what was reported to be the funeral tent.

Shawkat said the Mahdi Army was under orders from Sadr not to fight U.S. forces. "So, we didn't. We were surprised. We did not expect the Americans to come and attack us," he said.

The clash with the militia came on a day when Democratic Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Jack Reed (R.I.) were touring Iraq. Their visit includes stops in Baghdad and Basra and meetings with Maliki and cabinet members.

Biden said he noticed little difference in security since his previous visit, during elections in December. "The incidents are up, the militias in the last couple months have grown, not diminished, so I'm not impressed," Biden said.

He said he found it "disturbing" the Shiite-led government did not seem to have a sufficient sense of urgency about incorporating Sunni Muslim leaders into the political process. Unless there is a trustworthy police force and a greater Sunni commitment to peace, Biden said, "I don't know how they can keep this thing together."

Biden said that one year from now, if there is not significant progress reducing sectarian violence and disbanding the militias, and much more stability, "there's going to be really no prospect, in my view, of keeping any large number of American forces here."

Meanwhile, the Friday holiday was disrupted by attacks on both Shiite and Sunni mosques. A car bomb exploded after prayers at the Sunni Mustafa mosque in western Baghdad, killing seven worshipers and three mosque guards, said Col. Sami al-Masrawi of the Interior Ministry.

South of Baghdad, rocket-propelled grenades struck at a joint Iraqi army and police patrol guarding the Shiite al-Sajad mosque, killing two worshipers and two policemen, Masrawi said.

Special correspondents Saad Sarhan in Najaf and Naseer Nouri and Bassam Sebti in Baghdad contributed to this report.