The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Baghdad

Fierce overnight clashes between Shiite militiamen and US and Iraqi forces in east Baghdad's Sadr City killed at least 11 people and wounded 32 others, a medical official told AFP on Friday.

The medic from Sadr City-stronghold of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia-said the dead included four old men, two women and a child. The wounded included women and children, he added. Iraqi and US forces have been engaged in fierce street battles with Shiite fighters, mostly from the Mahdi Army, since March 25 when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on militiamen in the southern city of Basra. The Basra assault triggered a wave of clashes in Shiite regions across Iraq, particularly in Sadr City.

Since then at least 383 people have been killed in Sadr City, according to an AFP tally based on casualty figures provided by Iraqi and US officials.