34 die as US forces clash with rebel cleric's gunmen

US forces battled rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s gunmen in a Baghdad slum in clashes today that killed 34 people, including one American soldier, and wounded 193.

Tanks moved into Sadr City 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 into the sky.