Al-Sadr Fighters Clash With British Troops
8 May 2004 -- Militiamen loyal to radical Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr clashed today with British troops in the southern
Iraqi city of Al-Basrah.
Gunmen surrounded the governor's offices, as British troops sent in reinforcements to maintain their control of the building.
A British military spokesman says at least two militiamen were killed and three British soldiers were wounded in the fighting.
Clashes were also reported between British forces and insurgents in the southern city of Amara.
The clashes between al-Sadr's militia and coalition troops come a day after the cleric's aide, Sheikh Abd al-Sattar al-Bahadli, offered a reward to anyone who captures a British soldier.
Elsewhere in Iraq, a blast outside the home of a police official in Habhab, north of Baghdad, killed three civilians.
Earlier today, a Polish soldier was killed in a road accident in Karbala.
(compiled from wire reports)