Fresh violence frays militia truce in Iraq

By Ross Colvin and Randy Fabi

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Mehdi Army fighters attacked police patrols in southern Baghdad overnight, police said on Friday, further fraying a seven-month-old ceasefire called by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to rein in his militia.

The clashes in Baghdad's Shurta district follow outbreaks of violence in the southern Iraqi city of Kut in which Mehdi Army fighters battled U.S. and Iraqi security forces. Three people were killed in fresh fighting in Kut late on Thursday.

The fighting took place on the same day that Iraq marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

On Friday, five people were wounded in clashes between Mehdi Army fighters and U.S. and Iraqi security forces in the Hay al-Amil area of southwestern Baghdad, police said.

Sadr, whose militia fought two uprisings against U.S. forces in 2004, first called a ceasefire last August and extended it last month. But two weeks ago he issued a statement telling his followers they could defend themselves if attacked.

Shortly afterwards, gunbattles broke out between Mehdi Army fighters and Iraqi and U.S. security forces in Kut, raising fears that the ceasefire was unraveling. Until Thursday, violence involving the Mehdi Army had been confined to Kut.

U.S. military spokesman Major Mark Cheadle said U.S. forces had launched an operation on Thursday in the western Rashid district of Baghdad, which includes Shurta, to target gunmen firing mortar bombs on civilian areas.

Six gunmen were killed by ground troops and air strikes by Apache attack helicopters and two detained, he said. An Iraqi police lieutenant meanwhile had been kidnapped, he added.