US air strikes return in Iraq
Friday, 4 April 2008
BAGHDAD, Apr 3 (Reuters): US forces called in helicopter strikes during a clash with gunmen Thursday in the city of Hilla and said they bombed a house in Basra, stepping up raids after days of relative calm in Iraq's volatile south.
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers fought Iraqi and U.S. forces last week, called for a "peaceful sit-in" in Baghdad Friday to protest against bombings, arrests and vehicle bans that continue to seal off parts of the capital.
Police sources in the Shi'ite city of Hilla said five people had been killed in Thursday's predawn clash, including four policemen.
In Basra, where last week's fighting erupted when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown on Sadr followers, a US air strike late Wednesday destroyed a house.
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose followers fought Iraqi and U.S. forces last week, called for a "peaceful sit-in" in Baghdad Friday to protest against bombings, arrests and vehicle bans that continue to seal off parts of the capital.
Police sources in the Shi'ite city of Hilla said five people had been killed in Thursday's predawn clash, including four policemen.
In Basra, where last week's fighting erupted when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown on Sadr followers, a US air strike late Wednesday destroyed a house.