Al-Sadr's aides and witnesses said a gun battle erupted when U.S. and Iraqi forces approached al-Sadr's house.
A spokesman for al-Sadr in Baghdad, Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani, said U.S. soldiers surrounded al-Sadr's house and that fighting continued for several hours before the troops withdrew.
He said al-Sadr was not at the house during the fighting.
The U.S. military said Marines were fired on while conducting a security patrol in the city and that two Iraqi fighters were believed killed in the gun battle.
Earlier this year, al-Sadr agreed to a truce after leading a bloody two-month rebellion against the coalition.
(Reuters/AFP/dpa)
A spokesman for al-Sadr in Baghdad, Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani, said U.S. soldiers surrounded al-Sadr's house and that fighting continued for several hours before the troops withdrew.
He said al-Sadr was not at the house during the fighting.
The U.S. military said Marines were fired on while conducting a security patrol in the city and that two Iraqi fighters were believed killed in the gun battle.
Earlier this year, al-Sadr agreed to a truce after leading a bloody two-month rebellion against the coalition.
(Reuters/AFP/dpa)
