34 die as American forces clash with rebel Shi’ite cleric’s gunmen

US forces battled insurgents loyal to Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City yesterday in fierce clashes that killed 34 people, including one American soldier, and wounded 193.

US tanks moved into the neighbourhood and armoured personnel carriers and Bradley fighting vehicles were deployed at key intersections. Ambulances with sirens wailing rushed the wounded to hospitals as plumes of black smoke rose over the mainly Shi’ite neighbourhood.

Warplanes flew over the sprawling neighbourhood of more than two million, firing flares to avoid being hit by anti-aircraft missiles.

Four other soldiers were killed in separate incidents in and around Baghdad, including two members of the 13 Corps Support Command.

In the past two days, 12 Americans have been killed, bringing to 995 the number of American troops who have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq in March 2003.

In another part of the capital, a roadside bomb targeted the Baghdad governor’s convoy, killing two people but leaving him uninjured, the Interior Ministry said. Three of Governor Ali al-Haidri’s bodyguards were also hurt.

The fighting in Sadr City erupted when militants attacked US forces carrying out routine patrols, killing one American.