Civilians wounded by tank fire in Sadr City

Five Iraqi civilians were wounded by US tank fire in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City early today, a hospital official said.

The injured were being treated at al-Sadr Hospital, the hospital director Abdel-Jabar Solag said.

There was no immediate report from the US military about fighting in the slum, located in western Baghdad, which has been the scene of daily clashes and shelling.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded as a US military convoy travelled along a road on the outskirts of the western Iraq city of Ramadi today, police said.

There were no reports of casualties but three persons were arrested after the blast, said Ramadi Police Captain Fahim Hussein.

Eyewitnesses said US fire killed one women in a farm near the scene of the explosion on the eastern edges of Ramadi. Around 20 persons were detained, the eyewitnesses said.

An uneasy calm reigned over former Sunni militant stronghold of Samarra today as US and Iraqi forces conducted mopping up operations following two days of fierce fighting.

As the gunfire subsided, residents emerged from their homes to survey the damage and bury the dead.

US and Iraqi commanders have declared the operation a successful first step in a major push to wrest key areas from insurgent control before January elections.

Iraqi police patrolled the city today, while US soldiers and Iraqi National Guard members went house to house searching for insurgents and weapons caches.

At the main hospital, bodies in black plastic bags were loaded on a truck to be taken to the cemetery.

The military says 125 rebels have been killed and 88 captured since the operation started early Friday.

“This is great news for the people of Samarra, 200,000 people who have been held captive, hostage if you will, by just a couple of hundred thugs,” Major General John Batiste, commander of the US 1st Infantry Division, told CNN.

Some residents agreed, but there was also anger at the number of civilians killed, including women and children.

“The people who were hurt most are normal people who have nothing to do with anything,” said Abdel Latif Hadi, 45.

Most businesses remained closed today. Residents moved around on foot, saying the military had instructed them not to use cars.

There was no electricity in the city, but water service resumed, residents said.