By Xinhua,
Baghdad : At least eight people were killed and 61 others injured in overnight clashes as joint US-Iraqi force conducted operations in Sadr city east of capital Baghdad, an Iraqi interior ministry source said Saturday.
The US and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters conducted operations in several parts of the sprawling slum of Sadr city late Friday night to arrest followers of hardliner Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, sources told Xinhua.
During the operation, the troops came under heavy fire from gunmen prompting the troops to fire back.
Several Iraqi cities, including Baghdad, are witnessing tensions between militiamen loyal to al-Sadr and US-backed Iraqi security forces after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned that the cleric must disband his Mahdi Army militia or will be barred from taking part in the upcoming provincial elections.