Iraqi Authorities Regain Control of Diwaniyah
29 August 2006
Iraqi officials say authorities have regained control of the southern city of Diwaniyah, where scores of people were killed in fighting between Iraqi soldiers and Shi'ite militiamen.
Officials say shops reopened Tuesday and government troops are patrolling the Shi'ite-dominated city about 130 kilometers south of Baghdad.
Iraqi officials say at least 20 government soldiers, dozens of militiamen and several civilians were killed in fighting that continued for much of Monday.
Clashes ended after local political leaders worked out an agreement with radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who controls the Mahdi Army militia. That meeting took place in the Shi'ite holy city of Najaf.
Meanwhile, more than 30 Iraqis have been killed and many wounded in a fuel pipeline explosion near Diwaniyah. Police say most of the victims were people trying to collect fuel from the pipeline when the explosion occurred.
In Baghdad, police say they found 10 bodies today, riddled with bullets and with hands and legs bound, dumped near a school.
Separately, the U.S. military says nine American soldiers have been killed in attacks since Sunday - eight of them in and around Baghdad and one in al-Anbar province, west of the capital.
Despite the spike in violence this week, American military spokesman Major General William Caldwell says a combined U.S.-Iraqi security operation has reduced violence in Baghdad.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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