Clashes erupt in Baghdad after mortar attack

BAGHDAD, Dec 6 (Reuters) Fierce clashes erupted between Shi'ite militias and residents of a Sunni neighbourhood in western Baghdad today following a mortar barrage that wounded five people, the Interior Ministry said.

''There are many explosions now and there have been continuous clashes since late afternoon,'' one resident said.

An Interior Ministry official said 16 mortar rounds had landed in the Adil district, three falling on a Sunni mosque. Five worshippers inside, including the mosque's preacher, were wounded.

The official said gunmen from the Mehdi Army militia loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al Sadr had invaded the neighbourhood and were fighting armed residents. Details of the clashes were sketchy, but residents said they continued as dusk approached.

Earlier on Wednesday, mortar rounds fell on the central Midan district of the capital, the latest in a spate of such attacks across Baghdad, killing 10 people and wounding 54.

Iraq has been gripped by tit-for-tat violence between Shi'ites and Sunnis since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in February. The violence has turned many parts of the capital into no-go areas and segregated them on sectarian lines.

REUTERS LL PM1943