Iraq Prime Minister Condems U.S. for a Military Action

BAGHDAD - American soldiers rolled into Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City
slum on Saturday in search of Iranian-linked militants and as many as
26 Iraqis were killed in what a U.S. officer described as "an intense
firefight."


But residents, police and hospital officials said eight civilians were
killed in their homes and angrily accused U.S. forces of firing
blindly on the innocent. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned the
raids and demanded an explanation for the assault into a district
where he has barred U.S. operations in the past.

The U.S. military said it conducted two pre-dawn raids in Sadr City,
killing 26 "terrorists" who attacked U.S. troops with small arms fire,
rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs. But Iraqi officials said
all the dead were civilians.

An American military spokesman insisted all of those killed were
combatants. "Everyone who got shot was shooting at U.S. troops at the
time," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver. "It was an intense
firefight."

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

Witnesses said U.S. forces rolled into their neighborhood before dawn
and opened fire without warning.

"At about 4 a.m., 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 assault brought quick criticism from al-Maliki. "The Iraqi
government totally rejects U.S. military operations ... conducted
without a pre-approval from the Iraqi military command," al-Maliki
said in a statement released by his office. "Anyone who breaches the
military command orders will face investigation."

Sadr City is the Iraqi capital's largest Shiite neighborhood ? home to
some 2.5 million people. It is also the base of operations for the
Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The fighters are blamed for much of the sectarian killing in Baghdad.

Last year, al-Maliki banned military operations in Sadr City without
his approval after complaints from his Shiite political allies. But he
later agreed that no area of the capital was off-limits, after
President Bush ordered reinforcements to Iraq as part of the Baghdad
security operation.

Houses, a bakery and some other shops were damaged by U.S. tank fire
during the assault, Iraqi officials said. In the Shiite holy city of
Najaf, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr condemned
Saturday's raids: "The bombing hurt only innocent civilians."

A policeman wounded in the raid, Montadhar Kareem, said he was on
night duty when U.S. troops moved in and "began bombing houses in the
area."

"The bombing became more intense, and I was injured by shrapnel in
both my legs and in my left shoulder," Kareem said from a gurney at Al
Sadr General Hospital.

Hours afterward, a funeral procession snaked through Sadr City. Three
coffins were hoisted atop cars.

One resident who goes by the nickname of Um Ahmed, or "mother of
Ahmed," stood outside her home as mourners passed by.

"We are being hit while we are peacefully sleeping in our houses. Is
that fair?" she cried. The woman gave only her nickname, fearing
reprisal.

The U.S. military statement said American troops opened fire on four
civilian cars during the assault ? one that failed to stop at a
checkpoint, and three that insurgents were using for cover as they
shot at U.S. 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 U.S. troops from nearby buildings, he said.
.

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