BAGHDAD, 9 August 2007 — American jets and helicopters bombed Baghdad’s largest Shiite slum yesterday in a deadly strike targeting Iranian-backed militia, as thousands of pilgrims thronged the streets of the city.
The US military estimated that 30 “terrorists” were killed in the overnight strike on Sadr City, but families complained that women and children were among the dead, and angry mourners gathered to bury simple wooden caskets.
Helicopters and warplanes were called in after Iraqi and US ground troops arrested 12 members of a cell that American commanders believe brought weapons and explosives from Iran, and sent militants to Iran for training.
“The assault force and the overhead aerial support observed a vehicle and large group of armed men on foot attempting an assault on the ground forces,” the military said.
“Responding appropriately to the threat of the organized terrorist force, close air support was called and engaged the terrorist vehicle and organized terrorist force, killing an estimated 30 terrorists,” it added.
Families said 11 people were killed in the US airstrike in the teeming slum, a stronghold of Moqtada Sadr followers, including three children and four women. At least one house and a truck were heavily damaged.
But the military said all those killed — another two gunmen were shot dead — or captured were thought to belong to a rogue militia cell known for bringing among other things, explosively formed penetrators or EFPs, from Iran.
EFPs fire a ball of molten metal capable of destroying heavily armored vehicles, and have been responsible for hundreds of American deaths in Iraq.
“There were women and children in the area when we conducted the operation, but none were killed in the air strike,” Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said.
The manager of the Imam Ali Hospital in Sadr City said 10 people were killed, one of them a woman, and seven men wounded. Sadr City Hospital had received three bodies, its manager said, and four wounded, including a 13-year-old boy.
The predawn raid came hours before a vehicle curfew was imposed in the city, ahead of a major Shiite ceremony that two years ago saw the deadliest single incident in Iraq’s four-year conflict. More than 1,000 people were killed in a stampede.
Airstrikes were called in when they saw “a large group of armed men” and a vehicle attempting to attack ground forces, a US military statement said.
“Eliminating these cells is important to bring down the level of violence against US and Iraqi troops and the Iraqi people and taking weapons off the street,” Garver said.
