Scores of Iraqis were killed, fighting continued in al-Sader city
The office of martyr al-Sader in Baghdad has accused the American forces of being responsible for the violent clashes which took place in the city and resulted in killing 40 Iraqis and injuring 200 while one American soldier was killed.
Raed al-Kazemi, the official in the office said that the American forces are persistent to provoking the people of the city by continuing detentions and acts of breaking in under the pretext of confiscating light weapons. He explained that there is an agreement with the Iraqi government not to hand over light weapons.
He stressed the readiness of the Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sader to reach an agreement that ends the clashes in al-Sader city similar to that in Najaf. He stressed that the American interference leads to foiling any negotiation. He added that there are current negotiations with the interim government to end the tense situation in the city.
The fighters of al-Mahdi army launched fighting against the American forces in the streets of the city that lasted along last night until yesterday morning and the American armored vehicles took the streets of the city and explosions were heard as a result of clashes between the two sides.
Three American soldiers were killed in different attacks in explosives in Baghdad and the surrounding areas. One American military spokesman admitted the killing of one soldier in an explosion targeting one American military vehicle in Baghdad yesterday morning while a second soldier died of his wounds he had in another attack on Monday evening.
One American soldier was killed and another injured in a third explosion targeting a military vehicle near the capital on Monday evening. Targeting the American forces by explosives came after one difficult day for the Americans in Falluja where seven American soldiers were killed and 8 injured.
A statement alleged to be by an armed group for Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi published on the internet claimed responsibility for the attacks against the Americana and Iraqi forces in the two past days.