Posted on 04/05/2004 11:51:07 PM PDT by kattracks
NASSIRIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Radical Shi'ite militiamen fought gun battles with Italian troops in the southern town of Nassiriya on Tuesday and two civilians were killed, witnesses said.
The violence was part of a surge of unrest led by Moqtada al-Sadr, a cleric fiercely opposed to the U.S.-led occupation.
The fighting in Nassiriya erupted at about 4 a.m. (0000 GMT) and continued into the morning. Four Italian vehicles had been burned in the clashes in the Zeitoun district, witnesses said.
Pro-Sadr fighters were still controlling the area, near the local headquarters of Iraq (news - web sites)'s Coalition Provisional Authority.
The witnesses said two civilians had been killed and four wounded in crossfire. Two members of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia were wounded. There was no word on Italian casualties.
Italian military officials could not immediately be reached for comment. About 2,500 Italian troops serve in southern Iraq in a multinational force under British command.
A suicide bombing on the Italian headquarters in Nassiriya killed 19 Italians in November.
Sadr has sent his Mehdi Army militiamen into the streets of Baghdad and cities across the mainly Shi'ite south in the last few days in protest at the detention of one of his aides and the closure of his newspaper by U.S.-led authorities.
A U.S. spokesman revealed on Monday that an Iraqi judge had issued an arrest warrant for Sadr several months ago in connection with the murder a year ago of moderate Shi'ite cleric Abdul Majid al-Khoei in a Najaf mosque.
Sadr's group has denied involvement in the killing.
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It's about time to step up the coalition aggression.
The Iraqi people have lived under the rule of a tyrant for years and no doubt lack the understanding of the battling for freedom which has replaced the battling for survival.
In no way do the Shiite people want a theocracy. They enjoy freedom and economic opportunity. They either control those things for themselves or allow them to be controled by 'clerics' such as Sadr. They're already decided, hence the limited nature of his call to arms. Sadr is going down in flames of his own making.
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