|
40 Iraqis Killed, 200 Wounded in Sadr City
 |
|
US forces in the streets of Sadr City (AFP)
|
BAGHDAD,
September 7 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – More than 40
Iraqis were killed and 200 others injured in Sadr City Tuesday,
September 7, after fierce clashes erupted between US occupation forces
and followers of Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr, with followers of the
firebrand scholar blaming US forces for the sudden eruption of
fighting in the Baghdad slum.
In
other bloody incidents across the war-torn country,
Baghdad
governor escaped an assassination attempt, the son of
Mosul
governor was murdered and the
US
forces continued suffering heavy losses.
"Multiple
engagements between Multi-National Forces and Iraqi insurgents took
place today," the Associated Press quoted a
US
military spokesman as saying.
Confrontations
were still raging in the city with
US
tanks rumbled around the neighborhood and automatic fire echoed on the
streets of the city.
Sadr's
followers, for their part, accused the
US
occupation forces of causing the fighting to erupt in the city.
"Our
fighters have no choice but to return fire and to face the
US
forces and helicopters pounding our houses," Sheikh Raed
Al-Kadhimi, Sadr spokesman said in a statement, Agence France Presse
(AFP) reported.
Late
Tuesday, Sadr office in
Baghdad
declared a ceasefire, but it was not clear whether it would hold,
mutual or even whether it was already applied.
The
new eruption of violence brought an abrupt end to a lull in fighting
between the Mehdi army and US forces that followed Sadr's call last
week for a ceasefire and a pledge to join the political arena.
On
August 27, Sadr
signed a five-point plan put forward by Sistani that insisted
on the departure of all armed elements from Najaf and its twin city of
Kufa.
Sadr
ceded control of the Imam Ali shrine to representatives of the
religious leadership Friday, August 27.
Worst
Loss
|
|
Mehdi Army members take position in anticipation for more confrontations with US forces (AFP) |
The
fresh violence came after the
US
military suffered its worst
military loss in months Monday when a car bomb ripped through
a joint convoy, killing seven marines and three Iraqi national guards
near Fallujah.
The
Jordanian-born Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi's group claimed responsibility for
the attack.
"The
vehicle-borne improvised explosive device which killed both Iraqi
National Guard personnel and marines was detonated late this morning
near Fallujah," the BBC News Online quoted a
US
military statement as saying.
"The
explosion killed seven marines who were assigned to 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force and three Iraqi National Guard soldiers."
Other
three
US
marines were also reported killed in separate attacks in the Iraqi
capital, bringing to 992 the number of US troopers killed in
Iraq
since the
US
occupation of the oil-rich country.
Assassination
Bids
|
|
Baghdad governor escaped the assassination bid (AFP) |
As
the capital was engulfed in a fresh wave of violence,
Baghdad
governor Ali Al-Haidri narrowly escaped an assassination attempt,
Iraqi officials said.
"There
was an attempt to assassinate the Baghdad
governor," said interior ministry spokesman Colonel Adnan Abdul
Rahman.
"At
around 9 am (0500 GMT), militants opened fire at his convoy and then
detonated a car bomb... The governor is safe. There are victims but we
don't know how many."
The
19-year-old son of the governor for the northern Iraqi
province
of
Niniveh
which includes the city of
Mosul
was not so lucky though.
He
was assassinated by unknown attackers, medical and police sources
said.
Leith
Dureid Kashmula, 19, was shot several times in the chest by unknown
attackers as he was alone in his car in western
Mosul, said Hazem Gallawi, media adviser for the governorate.
|
