Iraqi, US Forces Battle Gunmen in Central Baghdad
09 January 2007
Iraqi police say a fierce gun battle raged in central Baghdad Tuesday.
Police say the fighting erupted when gunmen attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in the Haifa Street area, which is a known stronghold of Sunni insurgents.
Authorities say U.S. troops joined the fighting when Iraqi forces called for help.
The U.S. military says the operation in continuing.
In other news, a new videotape posted on the Internet Tuesday shows the body of Saddam Hussein after being hanged December 30.
The clandestine mobile phone recording shows a sheet being removed to reveal Saddam's neck severely twisted and with a gaping, bloody wound.
A voice on the footage was heard addressing someone named Abu Ali and urging him to "hurry up."
An earlier unauthorized video that showed Saddam being taunted just before his execution heightened tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite communities.
On Monday, the U.N. refugee agency said one out of every eight Iraqis has been forced to flee home to escape violence.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is appealing for $60 million to help the refugees and internally displaced Iraqis.
U.N.H.C.R. spokesman Ron Redmond told VOA that Iraq's neighbors do not have the resources to deal with the refugees.
The agency says up to 50,000 Iraqis flee their homes every month, making it the largest population displacement in the Middle East in over half a century.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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