British clash with Shiite extremists; four die in Baghdad bombing (Sunday)

[Barrett808]

British clash with Shiite extremists; four die in Baghdad bombing
By ROBERT H. REID

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - For a second day, British troops clashed Sunday with forces of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in southern Iraq. Four Iraqis were killed in an explosion in Baghdad, and three British soldiers were injured in a blast in Basra.

Al-Sadr's militia fired mortar shells before dawn Sunday at the governor's office and other British positions in Amarah, 180 miles southeast of Baghdad, a British official and residents said.

There were no British casualties, but British spokesman Maj. Ian Clooney said "a number of possible mortar positions" were attacked and destroyed.

Clooney denied statements by local residents that British helicopters were used to attack the insurgents. Residents said a helicopter fired on houses in the city's Sadeq district, killing four civilians and destroying several houses.


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