Plane fires on insurgents planting bomb

Strong explosions have been heard in Baghdad’s north-eastern Shiite district of Sadr City this morning following a US warplane blasted three people who were planting a roadside bomb, US officials and witnesses said.

Residents reported sporadic skirmishes between US troops and Shiite militiamen in the narrow and densely populated streets of the district, a stronghold of militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Improvised bombs planted on the roads used by US patrols are among the biggest killers of American forces in Iraq.

Sadr City, a teeming slum that is home to more than 2 million people, has seen weeks of clashes between US and Iraqi forces and armed followers of al-Sadr.

In an effort to restore order, the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has been holding talks with tribal leaders and members of al-Sadr’s movement.

On Thursday, a spokesman for al-Sadr offered to hand over medium and heavy weapons and cooperate with Iraqi security forces if the government will stop pursuing militia members and release the cleric’s detained followers.

The offer by Ali Smeisem on Al-Arabiya television contained no explicit promise to disband the militia, as demanded by US and Iraqi authorities. However, a senior security official, Qassim Dawoud, cautiously welcomed the proposal and urged other armed groups to lay down their arms.