IRAQ: US, Iraqi forces battle Shi'ite militia in Baghdad;suicide bomber kills 10, wounding 20 in Tikrit, Iraq.

U.S. and Iraqi forces fought Shi'ite militiamen in Baghdad during a raid on a suspected death squad on Monday (August 7, 2006) in the latest bid to stem sectarian violence that has pushed the country to the brink of civil war. At least 19 people were killed and 52 injured in attacks around the country as violence continued to rage. In Baghdad, a police source said two people were killed and 18 wounded during two hours of pre-dawn fighting in Sadr City, a stronghold of radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose supporters are part of the ruling Shi'ite coalition. The U.S. military said it backed up Iraqi forces in a raid to detain "individuals involved in punishment and torture cell activities". One U.S. soldier was hurt. The United States has boosted its troop levels in the Iraqi capital to prevent further escalation of sectarian violence, which is claiming around 100 lives every day and sapping confidence in Iraq's new Shi'ite-led government. It has vowed to confront the armed militias blamed for fanning tensions, but must tread carefully since some of these groups have close ties to parties in the new government. Meanwhile on Sunday ( August 6), in the nothern city of Tikrit a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mourning ceremony killing at least 10 people and wounding 20, police said. Blood covered the steps outside the hall and the floor of the hall as overturned furniture was scattered everywhere inside the hall. "We were sitting inside the hall when suddenly a man blew himself up. Maybe he was wearing an explosive belt because the whole hall was set on fire," one of the wounded said. Tikrit, some 175 km (110 miles), north of Baghdad, is the hometown of toppled leader Saddam Hussein. The commander of the U.S. Central Command, General John Abizaid, said last week that "sectarian violence probably is as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular". At least 100 people die in Iraq every day, according to U.N. figures.

ITN Source | August 7, 2006