US, Iraqi troops kill 20 militants in Iraq

DIWANIYA, Iraq, Oct 8: US and Iraqi troops killed 20 suspected Shi'ite militiamen late on Saturday in the southern Iraqi city of Diwaniya in heavy clashes that police said went on into today.

The US military said the militants were killed after their forces had responded to an attack with rocket-propelled grenades as they entered the Shi'ite city to carry out ''combat operations'' yesterday.

US troops have maintained a large presence in the area since a battle in late August in which Shi'ite militiamen killed at least 20 soldiers.

Police said the clashes were between militiamen loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and US forces. An official in Sadr's office said the US broke a previous agreement by entering the city and hinted they were not involved in clashes.

''US forces broke the agreement we agreed ... that they do not enter the centre of the city and gunmen clashed with them. Moqtada al-Sadr has prevented us from fighting the Americans in Diwaniya,'' he said on condition of anonymity.

REUTERS