US says eight gunmen killed in Baghdad operation

BAGHDAD, Apr 30 (Reuters) Eight gunmen were killed in a US-Iraqi operation in Baghdad, the US military said, in what some witnesses described as a clash with the Mehdi Army militia of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

The US military said in a statement today that one Iraqi soldier was killed in the incident in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district. It denied reports from witnesses that US forces had entered a mosque and an office run by Sadr.

The statement gave no affiliation for the gunmen, but some witnesses said they were Mehdi Army militiamen. It also did not say if US troops were involved in any exchange of fire.

A US military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, said U.S. forces had set up an outer perimeter during the incident, while Iraqi forces carried out the operation.

Sources in Sadr's political movement gave conflicting reports, with some saying the clash involved members of the organisation, while others said they were civilians.

If the gunmen were Mehdi Army, the clash would mark the heaviest between US forces and the Mehdi militia in Baghdad since the start of a major crackdown against gunmen in the capital began in February.

Under Sadr's orders, the Mehdi Army has been keeping a low profile during the offensive.

The military statement said the initial aim of the operation had been to detain ''high-value individuals''.

REUTERS SS KN1446