Mahdi Army militia, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, battled the joint forces.

British, Iraqi forces kill 20 insurgents in southern Iraq

British and Iraqi forces backed by aircraft raided insurgents' hideouts in the Maysan province in southeastern Baghdad early on Monday, killing at least 20 insurgents, the U.S. military said. The raids targeted members of a "secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training," the statement said. Six more suspected insurgents were injured and another detained on the operations in Amarah, the capital city of Maysan province, and the Majar al-Kabir area, 30 km south of the city, it said. During the raids in both areas, the British and Iraqi forces came under heavy small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenade attacks, prompting the joint forces to call in close air support, the statement added. Local Iraqi police source told Xinhua that up to 40 people were killed in both areas and dozens more wounded during the raids when Mahdi Army militia, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, battled the joint forces. Intelligence reports said that the two targeted areas were known as safe havens and smuggling routes for "Iranian surrogates, or Iraqis that are liaisons for Iranian intelligence operatives into Iraq," according to the statement.
Coalition forces in Iraq frequently accused Iran of providing Iraqi Shiite militia with weapons and parts for sophisticated armored-piercing bombs, which has been denied by Iran.
Source: Xinhua