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U.S. Fights Iraqi Militia in South
At least three civilians were killed and six hurt in a car-bomb attack in the Baghdad's Sadr City. In western Baghdad, the U.S. military said two American soldiers were killed and four others wounded Friday in roadside bombings.
(By Ali Abed -- Associated Press)
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But the city remained at a standstill, with residents cowering in their houses as mortar shells crashed down and military aircraft hovered above.
"The women in my house couldn't wash clothes and hang them on the roof, nor could any man or child, because of the American planes," Waleed said. "We would be killed by the Mahdi Army if we went out. They would consider us either spies or agents."
Spokesmen for Sadr in Diwaniyah said the militiamen had retreated to their homes and insisted they were not defying the cleric. But they conceded that some fighters might act out of self-protection.
"The occupation forces are raiding the homes of the Mahdi Army members, and those members are defending themselves," said Abdul Razak al-Nidawi, a Sadr spokesman. "Of course, we obey the orders of our leader, Sayyid Moqtada al-Sadr," he said, using an honorific for the cleric, "but there is a limit to our patience and self-restraint."
Haider al-Natiq, another Sadr spokesman, said Mahdi Army field commanders had left the area on orders of Sadr officials who believed the U.S. and Iraqi forces were aiming to eliminate the militia's top leaders.
"If Sayyid Moqtada were to order a confrontation with the occupation forces, we would have wiped out those forces you see on the street now," Natiq said.
In October, at least 30 Mahdi Army fighters were killed when U.S. forces staged a raid in Diwaniyah. In August, 50 militiamen and 23 Iraqi soldiers were reported killed in a clash between Iraqi troops and Sadr loyalists.
In other developments, the military announced that two U.S. soldiers were killed and four others wounded in roadside bombings during patrols Friday in western Baghdad.
A car bomb in Sadr City killed at least three people and injured six, the Associated Press reported.
U.S. and Iraqi forces detained 14 people and seized weapons last week at what a U.S. military statement described as a "safe house" for a Sunni political party. The detainees were bodyguards for a member of Iraq's parliament, according to the statement, which did not name the party or the lawmaker.
Television news reports said the house belonged to Khalif al-Olayan, a leading member of the Iraqi Accordance Front, a Sunni political bloc. Among the items seized were 28 AK-47 assault rifles, more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition, bomb-making materials and photos of coffins draped with American flags, the military said.
Special correspondents Naseer Nouri and Waleed Saffar contributed to this report.
