US and Iraqi troops kill nine Shiite militiamen in Baghdad
May 6, 2008, 7:51 GMT
Baghdad - US and Iraqi troops killed nine Shiite militiamen in separate operations in Baghdad where they also uncovered weapons in the stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia, the US military said Tuesday.
In an operations on Sunday, Iraqi counter-terrorism teams backed by US special forces engaged 'special groups criminals,' killing three of them after they attacked the troops with small arms fire.
Special groups criminals is a term used by the US military to describe Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen.
In another incident in the northern Baghdad district of Shulah, the Iraqi force conducted an operation Monday 'to prevent Special groups activity and disrupt improvised explosive device networks,' according to the US military.
The operation involved a US aircraft, which fired four rounds, killing a gunman. The Iraqi force killed three gunmen and detained two after it was attacked by them.
'Operations to enforce the rule of law, detain criminal elements and disrupt their networks continue across Baghdad,' said Colonel Bill Buckner, a spokesman for the US military.
On March 25, the Iraqi government launched a crackdown on Shiite militias in the southern province of Basra and Shiite-dominated areas in east and north Baghdad.
While the offensive in Basra has nearly come to an end, deadly fighting in the east Baghdad district of Sadr City and surrounding areas are still raging, leaving hundreds dead and injured.
In Ur, east Baghdad, a US patrol killed a Shiite gunman Monday after a small arms fire attack by 'a special group criminal,' the military said.
Also in east Baghdad, a US aircraft killed a gunman and wounded another while they were placing an improvised explosive device in the Jamilla district, the military said.
US troops also uncovered a weapon cache containing 60-millimetre mortar rounds, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher, an RPG warhead, a light anti-tank weapon, a light machine gun and other ammunitions.
The military statement did not give details of where the weapons cache was discovered.
In the restive Diyala province, north-east of Baghdad, 10 Iraqi soldiers were killed in a an attack on a checkpoint Monday, the US military said.
The attack, which the military blamed on insurgents from the al- Qaeda in Iraq group, took place in Mindili, 110 kilometres north-east of Baghdad.
Thirteen soldiers were injured in the attack.
Sunni extremist insurgents are active in Diyala where an operation by Iraqi troops backed by US forces have failed so far to quell the insurgency there.
