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Iraq
Baghdad gun fight leaves 19 21 dead
2005-10-27
A clash in Baghdad between Iraqi police and Shia militiamen, on the one side, and Sunni insurgents, has left 19 people dead, reports say.
According to one report, 17 of the dead were Shia militiamen and two were members of the Iraqi police. The AFP news agency says that fighters from the Mehdi Army had requested help in recovering a comrade being held by Sunni insurgents. The Mehdi Army is a militia loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr. There was no immediate information on casualties on the insurgent side.
UPDATED BODY COUNT: BAGHDAD, Oct 27 (Reuters) - At least 21 Shi'ite militia fighters and two policemen were killed on Thursday when they clashed with Sunni Arab insurgents southeast of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said. Another five policemen and 12 members of the Mehdi army loyal to nationalist Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were wounded in the battle, which erupted after they tried to rescue a Mehdi Army member who was being held hostage, the official said. "At least 21 members of the Mehdi Army were killed in the fight," a source in Sadr's office told Reuters.
Oh. Darn. Shucks.
There was no immediate information on insurgent casualties in the battle in Nahrawan, southeast of Baghdad, an area with a mixed Sunni and Shi'ite population.
Posted by:Steve

#11  Really doesn't sound right. Too one-sided. There has to be more to this.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2005-10-27 20:17  

#10  Sounds like the Shia malitia were acting on behalf of, or with the police and got their butt kicked by the Sunnis, bad business.
Posted by: Shipman   2005-10-27 16:42  

#9  cool, did we just let em duke it out on the sidewalk too? hope someone caught this 'shoot out' on film! popcorn time!
Posted by: Shep UK   2005-10-27 13:55  

#8  i find this story very interesting
Posted by: liberalhawk   2005-10-27 11:52  

#7  boy, those Mehdi's aren't very good, are they, Tater?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-10-27 11:22  

#6  Waiting for Achmed's brother to call him back on the cell with some details. Until then, gimme another Bloody Mary, will ya Achmed. And a coupla Excedrins.
War is hell, lemme tell ya...
Posted by: Grizzled War Correspondent   2005-10-27 11:03  

#5   This is like half a story

waiting for the bartender to write the rest on a Palestine Hotel napkin, dontcha know?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-10-27 09:52  

#4  This is like half a story.
Posted by: wxjames   2005-10-27 09:46  

#3  I read this report as saying: IP and Sadr's militia fighting Ba'athists/AQ, and 19 on the Shi'ite side dead.
Posted by: Jake-the-Peg   2005-10-27 09:12  

#2  The police and Sadr's bullet magnets were on the same side. Wonder how many Sunnis "insurgents" bought the farm.
Posted by: ed   2005-10-27 09:10  

#1  Police 17, Sadr 2.

Nice box score.

Posted by: john   2005-10-27 08:59  

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