Officials: 8 killed, 67 wounded in Baghdad's Sadr City

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

BAGHDAD - A senior government official was assassinated in Baghdad on Tuesday as clashes between Shiite militants and U.S. and Iraqi forces in the capital's Sadr City district left eight other people dead, officials said.

The violence in the embattled area appeared to be a continuation of heavy fighting over the weekend in which about 45 militants and four U.S. soldiers have died.

A showdown between Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army militia — led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — has increasingly drawn U.S. troops into battle. American commanders are particularly focused on trying to curb a rise in mortar and rocket attacks on the heavily fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad that houses Iraq's government and many foreign embassies.

Overnight clashes resulted in 42 injuries, officials at the Imam Ali and al-Sadr general hospitals said. Eight more were killed and 25 wounded in continuing firefights on Tuesday morning, said the officials who spoke on


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[maddezmom]

1. More than 30 killed in street battles in Baghdad's Sadr City, 6 US Soldier wounded

BAGHDAD - Shiite militants ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district on Tuesday and more than two dozen people were killed in the fighting, a U.S. military spokesman and Iraqi officials said. Six American soldiers were wounded.


The clashes broke out at 9:30 a.m. after U.S. troops were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said. As the troops were leaving the area, a vehicle was hit with two roadside bombs, Stover said.

Officials at the Imam Ali and al-Sadr general hospitals said about 25 people had died, with several dozen wounded. The officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to release the information, said most of the victims were civilians.

Stover said U.S. forces targeted gunmen in the area with rockets fired from a guided multiple-launch rocket system, which fires high-explosive warheads weighing 200 pounds. He said 28 extremists were killed.

"We have every right to defend ourselves," he said. "The problem is they're using houses, rooftops and alleyways (as cover)."

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=Aq3s2ihWAbdlGt53vMjpZ0hvaA8F

[bdamomma]

2. no words can describe how I feel

we have lost our souls, we need to stop this needless murder.

[maddezmom]

3. Militiamen ambush drives back US patrol in Sadr City

BAGHDAD - Dozens of fighters ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's main Shiite militia stronghold Tuesday, firing rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun bursts as the American push into Sadr City increasingly faces pockets of close urban combat.

U.S. forces struck back with 200-pound guided rockets that devastated at least three buildings in the densely packed district that serves as the Baghdad base for the powerful Mahdi Army militia.

The U.S. military said 28 militiamen were killed as the U.S. patrol pulled back. Local hospital officials said dozens of civilians were killed or wounded.

Such street battles — in tight confines and amid frightened civilians — are increasingly becoming a hallmark of the drive into Sadr City and recall the type of head-on clashes last seen in large numbers during last year's U.S. troop buildup in Baghdad and surrounding areas.

U.S. troops often have fought intense gunbattles as they cleared neighborhoods in Baghdad and former Sunni insurgent havens such as Anbar and Diyala provinces. But roadside bombings and rocket or mortar volleys against bases have been the more frequent mode of attack in recent years.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq;_ylt=AgR1kh7X0uqRBOjFMemb.WtvaA8F

[Supersedeas]

4. an day in the war of election to pre-empt a 'gathering' threat

[Massachusetts]

5. The Bu$hco stack em and rack em policy continues unabated