Un jeune Irakien pose mardi devant un v�hicule am�ricain en feu � Bagdad, o� des combats ont fait des dizaines de morts.
photo: Jewel Samad/AFP
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The latest deaths brought to 997 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count based on Defense Department records, AP reporting from Iraq, and reports from soldiers' families.
A senior Health Ministry official, Saad al-Amili, said a total of 35 people have been killed and 203 injured in the Sadr City clashes.
An al-Sadr spokesman in Baghdad, Sheik Raed al-Kadhimi, blamed "intrusive" American patrolling for provoking the fighting.
"Our fighters have no choice but to return fire and to face the U.S. forces and helicopters pounding our houses," al-Kadhimi said in a statement.
Hamza Hendawi/AP/Guardian 07.Sep.04
