Al-Sadr militia clash with police in Iraq

Basra, 21 Feb. (AKI) - There have been overnight clashes in the southern Iraqi city of Amara between the police and militia of the Mahdi Army, led by young Shiite radical Moqtada al-Sadr, according to a local police source. Speaking to Adnkronos International (AKI), the source said that "a police patrol squad came under attack while it was patrolling a residential area in the centre of the governorate of Maysan (in Amara province) by men from the Mahdi army". The policemen responded to the armed attack by opening fire and "one person was wounded", the source said.
The Mahdi militia is accused of kidnapping and killing political rivals and executing Sunni Muslims in their self-proclaimed crusade against former Baathists and followers of Wahhabism.

Al-Sadr came to prominence following the US invasion of Iraq, gaining support from poor Shiites in Baghdad and southern cities. He staged two anti-US revolts in Iraq.

A video published recently by a London daily newspaper shows British soldiers apparently beating Iraqis was shot during a demonstration in Amara in 2004. The video has triggered protests in southern Iraq and led to two regional governments, in Bassora and Maysan, to halt all cooperation with the British coalition troops.