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Fighters surrender in Iraqi city
Armed militiamen in the Iraqi city of Karbala have surrendered to coalition forces a week after clashes between rival Shia Muslim groups in the city.
About 20 fighters thought to be followers of radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had sought shelter in a mosque after the fighting.
They emerged at dawn and were arrested by Polish coalition troops.
Attacks on coalition troops continued on Tuesday with reports that two US soldiers were wounded near Falluja.
An Iraqi witness, 29-year-old Hussein Ali, told the French news agency AFP he had seen two soldiers being evacuated from a burning vehicle after it was hit by a roadside bomb.
Troops backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles fanned out and searched nearby houses and farms, AFP's correspondent reported from the scene in the village of Amiriyat al-Falluja.
Ambushers killed a US paratrooper in Falluja on Monday in an attack which left six others wounded and two civilians dead.
Shia unrest
The fighters who surrendered in Karbala, which has been tense for the past week, are thought to be followers of Mr Sadr.
Fighting erupted in the city last Monday when his followers reportedly tried to take over the shrine of Imam Hussein, one of the most holy sites in Shia Islam.
Correspondents say that the clash appeared to be part of a power struggle inside Iraq's majority Shia community.
A new gun battle erupted in Karbala on Thursday night between US-led troops and fighters loyal to a maverick Shia preacher, Mahmoud al-Hassani, who is said to be allied to Mr Sadr.
That clash left eight fighters, three American military policemen and two Iraqi policemen dead.
Correspondents say that the trouble in Karbala is an ominous development for the US-led coalition which previously enjoyed widespread support among Iraq's Shia Muslims, who were happy to see Saddam Hussein, their oppressor, ousted.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3211264.stm
Armed militiamen in the Iraqi city of Karbala have surrendered to coalition forces a week after clashes between rival Shia Muslim groups in the city.
About 20 fighters thought to be followers of radical anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had sought shelter in a mosque after the fighting.
They emerged at dawn and were arrested by Polish coalition troops.
Attacks on coalition troops continued on Tuesday with reports that two US soldiers were wounded near Falluja.
An Iraqi witness, 29-year-old Hussein Ali, told the French news agency AFP he had seen two soldiers being evacuated from a burning vehicle after it was hit by a roadside bomb.
Troops backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles fanned out and searched nearby houses and farms, AFP's correspondent reported from the scene in the village of Amiriyat al-Falluja.
Ambushers killed a US paratrooper in Falluja on Monday in an attack which left six others wounded and two civilians dead.
Shia unrest
The fighters who surrendered in Karbala, which has been tense for the past week, are thought to be followers of Mr Sadr.
Fighting erupted in the city last Monday when his followers reportedly tried to take over the shrine of Imam Hussein, one of the most holy sites in Shia Islam.
Correspondents say that the clash appeared to be part of a power struggle inside Iraq's majority Shia community.
A new gun battle erupted in Karbala on Thursday night between US-led troops and fighters loyal to a maverick Shia preacher, Mahmoud al-Hassani, who is said to be allied to Mr Sadr.
That clash left eight fighters, three American military policemen and two Iraqi policemen dead.
Correspondents say that the trouble in Karbala is an ominous development for the US-led coalition which previously enjoyed widespread support among Iraq's Shia Muslims, who were happy to see Saddam Hussein, their oppressor, ousted.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3211264.stm