Violence Frays Militia Truce In Iraq

Violence Frays Militia Truce In Iraq

Mehdi Army fighters attacked police patrols in southern Baghdad overnight, police said on Friday, further fraying a seven-month-old ceasefire called by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to rein in his militia.

The clashes in Baghdad's Shurta district follow outbreaks of violence in the southern Iraqi city of Kut in which Mehdi Army fighters battled U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Three people were killed in fresh fighting in Kut late on Thursday.

The fighting took place on the same day that Iraq marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

On Friday, five people were wounded in clashes between Mehdi Army fighters and U.S. and Iraqi security forces in the Hay al-Amil area of southwestern Baghdad, police said.

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