Initially, U.S. forces said they had killed 12 insurgents but there were no civilian casualties during the six-hour battle that ended with U.S. air strikes.
Local Iraqi officials said 26 people were killed, including several women and children.
(Reuters)
On The Verge Of Civil War
On The Verge Of Civil War
The Imam Al-Mahdi Army on parade (epa)
HAS THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ BECOME A CIVIL WAR? Many observers have concluded that the tit-for-tat sectarian violence that emerged after the February 2006 bombing of a mosque in Samarra has become a full-blown civil war.... (more)
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THE COMPLETE PICTURE: Click on the image to view RFE/RL's complete coverage of events in Iraq and that country's ongoing transition.
