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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US raid kills Iraqi 'criminals' | US raid kills Iraqi 'criminals' |
| (9 minutes later) | |
| Forty-nine Iraqi "criminals" have been killed in three separate raids in Sadr City in the capital, Baghdad, the US military says. | Forty-nine Iraqi "criminals" have been killed in three separate raids in Sadr City in the capital, Baghdad, the US military says. |
| "The operation's objective was an individual reported to be a long-time Special Groups member specialising in kidnapping operations," it said. | "The operation's objective was an individual reported to be a long-time Special Groups member specialising in kidnapping operations," it said. |
| Iraqi sources said women and children were among those killed, but the US said it was not aware of this. | Iraqi sources said women and children were among those killed, but the US said it was not aware of this. |
| Sadr City is a stronghold of radical Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr. | Sadr City is a stronghold of radical Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr. |
| The poor district has been the scene of much fighting between militants and US forces. | The poor district has been the scene of much fighting between militants and US forces. |
| 'Barbaric' | |
| US military said its troops had returned fire after coming under sustained attack from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades from nearby buildings as they began to raid a series of buildings in the district. | US military said its troops had returned fire after coming under sustained attack from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades from nearby buildings as they began to raid a series of buildings in the district. |
| Ground forces then called in air strikes. | |
| The statement by the US military said: "Coalition forces estimate that 49 criminals were killed in three separate engagements during this operation." | The statement by the US military said: "Coalition forces estimate that 49 criminals were killed in three separate engagements during this operation." |
| Clouds of black smoke rose from Sadr City, where heavy gunfire continued on Sunday morning with US helicopters circling overhead, Reuters news agency reported. | |
| "We were waking in the morning and all of a sudden rockets landed in the house and the children were screaming," it quoted a woman as saying. | |
| An official loyal to Moqtada Sadr said the attack was "simply barbaric". | |
| "Most of those killed and wounded were women, children and elderly men which shows the indiscriminate monstrosity of the attacks on this crowded area," Abdul-Mehdi al-Muteyri told Reuters news agency. | |
| But the US military denied civilians had been killed. | |
| "Ground forces reported they were unaware of any innocent civilians being killed as a result of this operation," its statement said. |