Baghdad: At least 47 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded in two days of clashes between Shiite fighters loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Iraqi forces, officials said today.

In the southern city of Basra, where the Iraqi army launched a crackdown on the militants yesterday, at least 20 people were killed and another 200 wounded, according to the International Commitee for the Red Cross, quoting the Iraqi ministry of health.

An Iraqi security official said 20 people were killed and 115 wounded in similar clashes in Sadr City, Sadr's sprawling bastion in Baghdad which is home to two million people.

Seven people were also killed in the central city of Kut where the militants clashed with security forces, local police said.

Source : PTI