Fighting between Iraqi Security Forces and Jaysh al-Mehdi continues
US Apache helicopters bombed houses in Hilla, Iraq, killing up to 60 civilians and wounding dozens more. The Pentagon said that US troops were providing air support to Iraqi security forces who have been fighting with Jaysh al-Mehdi for the past three days. The most intense fighting has been in Basra and Kut, where hundreds have been killed or injured.
(Democracy Now and al-Tariq ila Karbala)
This woman’s son was killed yesterday in Hilla during the fighting.
Al-Hayat reports that Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki refuses to negotiate with militants from Jaysh al-Mehdi. Meanwhile, thousands of supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr are holding demonstrations calling for the resignation of Maliki and for him to have a trial like Saddam Hussein’s.
