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Sadr City Fight Kills 13; Insurgents Vow to Fight On

Posted Apr 12, 08 12:57 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – US and Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite insurgents in fierce fighting overnight near Baghdad’s Sadr City, Reuters reports, as authorities lifted a blockade in some areas that had been stifling the region. At least 13 militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were killed in the clashes in the Iraqi slum, but no American or Iraqi troops were seriously injured.

US jets patrolled the night skies, while insurgents prowled the streets carrying rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. Residents described this latest skirmish as among the worst since last week, and many militiamen insist fighting isn’t over: “We will not allow the Americans to enter the city whatever happens,” some shouted over loudspeakers, even “if we lose our lives and sons.”

Source Reuters

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A young Iraqi girl passes a militiaman holding a RPG, rocket propelled grenade, in Sadr City.   (AP Photo)
Residents gather around a crater created after an air strike in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City.   (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Map of Baghdad locates Sadr City and the Green Zone where recent fighting has occurred.   (AP Photo)
A militiamen hold their weapons aloft in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Baghdad.   (AP Photo)
Residents talk while overlooking a school building on fire in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Baghdad.   (AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)
Residents gather to overlook a school building on fire in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City.   (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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Iraq • Nouri al-Maliki • Robert Gates • Moqtada al-Sadr • Sadr City • Shiite militants • Najaf • blockade


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