32 Shi'ite Militiamen Killed in Clashes in Iraq
VOA News
23 May 2004, 11:35 UTC
The U.S. military in Iraq says it killed 32 Shi'ite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in fighting around the cities of Kufa and Najaf.
No U.S. casualties were reported.
The military says among those killed were an estimated 20 Shi'ite militiamen who died in a raid on a mosque in Kufa -- a Sadr stronghold.
The U.S. military said a special Iraqi anti-terrorism force entered the mosque and not American soldiers. The Iraqi force seized mortar launchers and ammunition, rockets, rocket-propelled grenades and a machine gun stored in the Sahla mosque compound. Reporters in Kufa saw pools of blood on the floors of the mosque.
Earlier, U.S. troops moved into the holy city of Karbala, but there was no sign of Sadr militiamen. Residents said the fighters had already pulled out of the city.
Meanwhile, U.S. military officials have given Iraqi police in the town of Fallujah a list of 25 suspects in the murder and mutilation of four American security contractors on March 31. The killings led to a U.S. offensive against militants in Fallujah, but the coalition has now turned over responsibility for security to Iraqi forces.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.
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