Iraqi PM criticises US slum raid

Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki condemned a US raid in Baghdad’s Shiite Sadr City slum – a politically sensitive district for him – in which American troops searching for Iranian-linked militants sparked a firefight that left 26 Iraqis dead.

The US military said all those killed in the fighting yesterday were gunmen, some of them firing from behind civilian cars. But an Iraqi official put the death toll at eight and said they were civilians.

Residents also said eight civilians were killed in their homes and angrily accused American troops of firing wildly during the pre-dawn assault.

Sadr City is the Iraqi capital’s largest Shiite neighbourhood – home to some 2.5 million people – making US raids there potentially embarrassing for Maliki’s Shiite-led government.

The district is also the stronghold of the Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who was once Maliki’s ally.

“The Iraqi government totally rejects US military operations ... conducted without prior approval from the Iraqi military command,” Maliki said in a statement concerning the Sadr City raid. “Anyone who breaches the military command orders will face investigation.”

Last year Maliki banned military operations in Sadr City without his approval after complaints from his Shiite political allies. The ban frustrated US commanders pushing for a crackdown on the Mahdi Army, blamed for sectarian killings.

Maliki later agreed that no area of the capital was off-limits, after US president George Bush ordered reinforcements to Iraq as part of the Baghdad security operation.

The US military said it conducted two pre-dawn raids in Sadr City, killing 26 “terrorists” who attacked US troops with small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs.

An American military spokesman insisted all of those killed were combatants.

“Everyone who got shot was shooting at US troops at the time,” said Lt Col Christopher Garver. “It was an intense firefight.”

US troops detained 17 men suspected of helping Iranian terror networks fund operations in Iraq, a military statement said. There were no US casualties.

But witnesses said US forces rolled into their neighbourhood before dawn and opened fire without warning.

“At about 4am, a big American convoy with tanks came and began to open fire on houses – bombing them,” said Basheer Ahmed, who lives in Sadr City’s Habibiya district.

“What did we do? We didn’t even retaliate – there was no resistance.”

According to Iraqi officials, the dead included three members of one family – a father, mother and son. Several women and children, along with two policemen, were among the wounded, they said.

The US military statement said American troops opened fire on four civilian cars during the assault – one that failed to stop at a checkpoint, and three others that insurgents were using for cover as they fired on US soldiers.

“Every structure and vehicle that the troops on the ground engaged were being used for hostile intent,” Garver said.

Some of the 26 dead were in civilian cars, some had been hiding behind cars and others had fired on US troops from nearby buildings, he said.

:: Two American soldiers have been charged with the premeditated murder of three Iraqis and with planting weapons on the bodies to cover up the killings, which took place between April and June near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.

Staff Sgt Michael Hensley is in custody in Kuwait, facing three counts each of premeditated murder, obstructing justice and wrongfully placing the weapons. Spc Jorge Sandoval, arrested at his home in Texas, faces one count each of premeditated murder and planting a weapon, the US military said.