Ten dead as US troops attack Iraqi rebels
US aircraft and tanks attacked rebel positions as fierce fighting erupted early today in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum, killing 10 people and injuring 92 others, hospital officials said.
The fighting came as US and Iraqi forces searched for weapons caches in the Shiite stronghold, an east Baghdad slum.
Witnesses near the scene said a US C130 gunship raked one area with heavy fire after rebels loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr opened fire with rocket propelled grenades.
US warplanes and Apache helicopter gunships also carried out strikes. One helicopter was hit by groundfire but managed to return to its base, and one tank was disabled by a roadside bomb.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries to US forces.
Ten people died and 92 were injured, said Qassim Saddam of Imam Ali Hospital in Sadr City.
At one point, US troops took to the slum roof tops to chase down five rebels armed with assault rifles, killing two and capturing three.
Later, soldiers occupied the Jolan Club, a large enclosed sports complex with soccer fields and basketball courts that the Americans believed was being used to store weapons. No arms were found, however.
On Tuesday, US planes also struck in Sadr City in an attempt to destroy roadside bombs and mines strewn across the slum’s streets. Al-Sadr officials said the strikes destroyed the homes of civilians.
