By Xinhua
Baghdad : At least 49 people were killed in separate raids Sunday in the Shia dominated district of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, the US military said.
“Coalition forces estimate that 49 criminals were killed in three separate engagements during operation in Sadr City,” said a US military statement.
“Ground forces reported they were unaware of any innocent civilians being killed as a result of this operation,” the statement added.
Earlier, the military said that six suspected militants were killed during the raid that targeted a Special Groups member specializing in kidnapping operations.
The Special Groups are Shia militia extremists allegedly funded, trained and armed by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force operatives, according to the US military.
Based on intelligence reports, the forces targeted “a well-known cell leader who has previously sought funding from Iran to carry out high profile kidnappings”, the military said.
During the house-to-house searches in the area, the troops encountered attacks from militiamen with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades from nearby structures.
The US troops fired back and called in aerial support, killing 39 militants, it said.
While leaving the targeted area, the troops clashed again with another group of militants after they were attacked by a roadside bomb followed with gunfire, killing 10 more militants, it added.
Sadr City is a stronghold of Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who had declared recently a six-month freeze of armed activities for his militia.