Clashes Erupt Between Iraqi Police, Shi'ite Militia

The Imam Al-Mahdi Army is accused of being behind much of Iraq's sectarian killing (file photo) (epa) May 16, 2007 -- Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's milita, the Imam Al-Mahdi Army, clashed with Iraqi security forces in the southern city of Al-Nasiriyah today after overnight fighting left seven people dead.

The city's director of public health, Hadi Badr, said five civilians, and two Iraqi soldiers were killed.

The fighting broke out late on May 15 when local police arrested two members of the powerful Shi'ite militia, accusing them of targeting U.S.-led and Iraqi forces with homemade bombs and mortars.

In other news, Iraqi police today said a car bomb exploded near a
market in a Shi'ite enclave northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 32
people.

The attack occurred on May 15 in the village of Abu Saydah in Diyala Governorate. Abu Saydah is a mainly Shi'ite village about 40 kilometers northeast of the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ba'qubah, the capital of the province.

(AP, AFP)