Baghdad: A US air strike on the southern Iraqi city of Basra killed four people and wounded one today, British military spokesman Major Tom Holloway said.

The assault took place in Basra's restive northern district of Hayaniyah, where Shiite militiamen have been battling security forces since March 25.

"The coalition forces did conduct an air strike at around 1:00 am (local time) in the eastern edge of Hayaniyah after positively identifying an enemy target. The enemy target was an RPG team engaging Iraqi army patrol," Holloway said.

He confirmed it was a US strike called in after the "Iraqi army patrol came under attack" from the rocket-propelled grenade team.

On March 25, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on Shiite militiamen in Basra. The crackdown led to fierce firefights in the first few days between the militiamen, mostly from radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, and security forces.

The fighting eased in the city later but Hayaniyah has continued to see sporadic firefights where the security forces are facing stiff resistance.

US warplanes have carried out several strikes in the area over the past few weeks. Local Basra residents, however, claim that the city of some 1.6 million people is returning to normalcy since the crackdown.
Source : PTI