The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Baghdad

US air strikes in a Shi'ite stronghold of Baghdad early on Sunday killed two toddlers, Reuters TV footage showed, in clashes that police said left a total of 13 dead and 69 wounded.

The bodies of the toddlers, one in a nappy, lay on crumpled blankets in the morgue of Imam Ali hospital in the poor district of Sadr City where doctors tended to wounded men and boys.

In a house where one of the children lived, a man pointed to bloodstained mattresses and blood-splattered pillows, choking back tears as he held up a photo of one of the dead.

"We were waking in the morning and all of a sudden rockets landed in the house and the children were screaming," said a woman outside the house.

Clouds of black smoke rose from Sadr City as sirens wailed, heavy gunfire echoed and U.S. attack helicopters circled overhead, the video footage showed.

The district is the main stronghold in Baghdad for the Mehdi Army, a Shi'ite militia loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and has seen many clashes between U.S. forces and militants. "The operation's objective was an individual reported to be a long-time special groups member specializing in kidnapping operations," the U.S. military said in a statement.

"Upon arrival, the ground force began to clear a series of buildings in the target area when they were engaged by machinegun fire and rocket propelled grenades from adjacent structures. Supporting aircraft was called in to suppress the enemy fire, killing an estimated six criminals," it said.

It added that the operation targeted "criminals believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of coalition soldiers in November 2006 and May 2007."

Three U.S. soldiers were kidnapped south of Baghdad on May 12. The body of one of the soldiers was found later that month but the other two are classed as missing and captured.

A U.S. army translator of Iraqi descent, was kidnapped on October 23 last year when he went to visit relatives, including his Iraqi wife, in Baghdad. His family said he was taken by the members of the Mehdi Army. The U.S. commander for Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil, said in September that while security was getting better in some parts of Baghdad following a U.S. crackdown, areas such as Sadr city were likely to continue to see higher violence.

Meanwhile, US forces in Iraq discovered nearly 19 tons of explosives in a weapons cache north of Baghdad this week, one of the biggest finds of its kind, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

The cache was discovered west of Tarmiya, some 30 km (19 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad, in Salahuddin province where Sunni Arab militants have a strong presence. The find was made up of 41,000 lbs of ammonium nitrate and 35 mortar bombs. U.S. forces destroyed the cache.

"It's a crippling blow against the enemy, it's really huge," said Peggy Kageleiry, a spokeswoman for U.S. forces in northern Iraq.

Car and truck bombs are used on almost a daily basis by militants in Iraqis targeting U.S. and Iraqi security forces and civilians.