U.S. Marines (file photo)
7 September 2004 -- Iraqi health officials say at least 15 people have been killed and scores wounded during fighting between U.S. troops and Iraqi militant forces in the past 24 hours in Baghdad's Al-Sadr City district.
The death-toll figures came as a U.S. military spokesman, Army Captain Brian O'Malley, said one U.S. trooper was killed in the Baghdad clashes.
The U.S. military spokesman said the fighting in Al-Sadr City started when militants attacked U.S. forces conducting routine patrols. A spokesman for Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Sheik Ra'd al-Kadhimi, blamed what he said was intrusive U.S. incursions into the area and attempts to arrest al-Sadr.
The U.S. military also said three U.S. troops were killed yesterday in roadside-bomb attacks in and around the Iraqi capital, adding to seven U.S. Marines and three Iraqi national guardsmen that were killed yesterday near Al-Fallujah.
In other developments, Iraq's Interior Ministry said that attackers targeting the governor of Baghdad's convoy today killed two people but left the official unharmed.
The U.S. military spokesman said the fighting in Al-Sadr City started when militants attacked U.S. forces conducting routine patrols. A spokesman for Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Sheik Ra'd al-Kadhimi, blamed what he said was intrusive U.S. incursions into the area and attempts to arrest al-Sadr.
The U.S. military also said three U.S. troops were killed yesterday in roadside-bomb attacks in and around the Iraqi capital, adding to seven U.S. Marines and three Iraqi national guardsmen that were killed yesterday near Al-Fallujah.
In other developments, Iraq's Interior Ministry said that attackers targeting the governor of Baghdad's convoy today killed two people but left the official unharmed.