By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer 8 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - A suicide truck bomber struck an Iraqi police agency in northern
Iraq on Sunday, killing at least 10 people, police said. A U.S. helicopter fired flares on a crowd on a square in eastern Baghdad, hours after clashes between American troops and Shiite militia that left at least five people dead, but the military said it was part of an automatic self-defense system.
Fighting broke out in the predominantly Shiite Fidhiliyah area on the Baghdad's outskirts late Friday after a U.S. military convoy came under attack outside the local offices of Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric whose Mahdi Army militia has recently stepped up attacks on American troops.
The U.S. military said an American patrol called for air and ground support after it came under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades fired from the al-Sadr office. Spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said no Americans were killed or wounded, but he did not have immediate information on Iraqi casualties. "We're still looking into the incident," he said.
Sheikh Mohammed al-Hilfi, an al-Sadr representative from the office, said the clashes broke out after a raid on the office, which doubles as a mosque. The military did not confirm the raid.
He said seven people were killed and 21 wounded, while local police officials put the casualty figure at five killed and 19 wounded. The officials said those killed were Iraqis and included bystanders caught in the crossfire, while 16 other men were detained.
more That's working out well! :sarcasm: