19 Iraqis killed in US raids

Press TV
Thursday, July 12, 2007

At least 19 people have been killed and 20 others wounded as US troops continue a massive raid near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

The violence in the capital's eastern Amin district began when the US military captured two gunmen allegedly involved in insurgency against US and Iraqi troops.

The military said the two captured people belonged to the Mahdi Army, the fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr.

In the morning, US troops surrounded the neighborhood, announcing with loudspeakers to residents that they were seeking gunmen and that they should stay inside, police said.

As the Americans withdrew around 11 a.m., they came under fire, prompting troops to move back into the district, assaulting several buildings, an official said.

Residents said that during the fighting, a US helicopter opened fire at several residential buildings and a minibus.

Meanwhile, in another incident, an Iraqi soldier and one civilian were killed in clashes between gunmen and the Iraqi army in the city of Diwaniyah in southern Iraq.

The clashes came hours after the US military said aircraft struck a group of insurgents allegedly planting a roadside bomb before dawn, killing five of them.