이라크 주둔 미군 병력이 반서방적인 과격 시아파 회교 성직자 무크타다 알-사드르 세력의 바그다드 거점인 사드르 시티에서 30일, 새벽 두 차례의 기습작전으로 저항분자 스물 여섯 명을 살해하고 열 일곱 명을 체포했다고 미군 당국이 발표했습니다.
미군 당국은 성명을 통해 이같이 밝히고 저항분자들이 이라크에 살상무기를 건네주는 이란의 테러조직과 연계돼 있는 것으로 보인다고 말했습니다.
미군 병력은 이날 작전에서 도로변 폭탄과 로켓 추진 총류탄과 소형화기 공격 등 상당한 저항을 받았던 것으로 알려졌습니다.
한편, 이날 경찰관 지망자들이 모여있는 곳에서 자살폭탄 공격이 벌어져 적어도 20명이 살해되고 열 여섯 명이 부상했습니다.
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U.S. troops in Iraq have killed 26 suspected militants and detained 17 others during a raid on Sadr City - the the stronghold of the anti-Western Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al - Sadr.
A U.S. military spokesman (Lt. Col. Christopher Garver) said this morning's (Saturday's) pre-dawn raid targeted militants with ties to "Iranian terror networks responsible for funneling lethal aid into Iraq."
According to the military, U.S. soldiers faced "significant" resistance during the raids, including roadside bomb attacks as well as fire from rocket-propelled grenades and light weapons.
Violence has also touched other parts of Iraq. A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of police recruits in Muqdadiyah, killing at least 20 people and wounding at least 16 others.
And authorities defused a bomb that had been intended to sabotage an oil pipeline southwest of Kirkuk.
In another development, two American soldiers have been charged with murdering three unarmed Iraqis. A U.S. military court charged the men (Staff Sergeant Michael Hensley and Specialist Jorge Sandoval) with killing the Iraqis and leaving weapons near their bodies to make them look like gunmen. The military said the charges were brought after other soldiers reported the two to authorities.