U.S. Raids in Iraq Target Shiite Cells

BAGHDAD - U.S. and Iraqi troops raided Baghdad's Sadr City slum on Sunday, targeting Shiite insurgent cells there for a second day, while British forces in the south killed three Shiite militants in overnight fighting, officials said.

Muqtada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric who emerged from months in hiding last week, met Sunday in Najaf with leaders of his movement to discuss Iraq's security and political situation, said Salah al-Obeidi, a senior aide to al-Sadr.

"The occupation forces bear responsibility for the suffering the country is facing and there is no solution but the withdrawal of the forces," said al-Obeidi, echoing demands al-Sadr made in the sermon he delivered after reappearing Friday.

Al-Sadr's Shiite Mahdi Army militia has repeatedly battled with U.S. and British troops in the streets of Sadr City and Basra, where British troops killed one of the cleric's commanders in a gunfight Friday.

After two days of pitched fighting with the Shiite militants, the British carried out an arrest raid early Sunday. During the raid, their forces were attacked with roadside bombs, rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire, the British said. The troops returned fire, killing three of their attackers and arresting four militants. No British forces were injured.

Meanwhile, in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, 70 police officers resigned Sunday morning and handed over their weapons. They cited their fears of being targeted by Mahdi Army militants, police said.

In Sadr City, U.S. and Iraqi forces carried out several raids targeting insurgent cells, arresting one suspect believed to be involved in smuggling Iran high-powered, armor piercing bombs from Iran that have been used against U.S. armored vehicles, the U.S. military said. The cell has also sent Iraqi militants to Iran for training, the military said.

During another raid in Sadr City, troops shot an approaching vehicle that ignored their signals to stop, the military said. No one was injured in the shooting, but the vehicle was set ablaze, the military said.

AP Television News footage showed several cars burned and destroyed in the street, including a van that was scorched black, had its windows knocked out and its upholstery incinerated. The footage also showed a house that appeared to have been ransacked.

On Monday, Iranian and U.S. diplomats were scheduled to hold rare talks in Baghdad over how to end the violence in Iraq. U.S. officials accuse Shiite-ruled Iran of training, financing and arming militants here, in a bid to fan sectarian tensions. Iran denies that and blames the presence of U.S. forces here for the violence.

On Sunday, gunmen in two cars threw concussion grenades at a popular market in northern Baghdad and then opened fire at shoppers, killing one person and injuring eight others, police said. Later, the same gunmen ambushed a minibus, killing the driver, stealing the vehicle and abducting six passengers, police said.

In other violence, gunmen shot up the car of Lt. Col. Hiyis al-Jubouri, a police commander in the northern Salahuddin province, killing him and another police officer, police said.

Gunmen also attacked a group of farmers in the al-Nahrawan district, 10 miles east of Baghdad, killing two and injuring nine, police said.

The U.S. military also reported late Saturday the deaths of eight U.S. troops, bringing the number of soldiers killed so far this month to at least 100 and putting May on pace to become the deadliest month for U.S. troops here in more than 2 1/2 years.