Nearly 230 killed in Iraq clashes

BAGHDAD, Saturday (AFP) - Almost 230 people have been killed in Iraq since fierce clashes between Shiite militants and Iraqi troops broke out five days ago, according to an AFP tally based on reports by security officials. Unconfirmed reports put the death toll much higher.

Fighting has raged in Shiite areas since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday ordered security forces to raid strongholds of Shiite militiamen, mostly loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, in the southern port city of Basra.

Subsequent street battles have left hundreds more wounded. Fighting was reported in some Basra neighbourhoods today for the fifth straight day, with at least 23 people killed since hostilities began, according to Iraqi security officials and aid organisations.

Iraqi health officials said today that the clashes have left 75 people dead in Baghdad's Sadr City, the bastion of Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, since Tuesday. Another 498 people were wounded in the sprawling neighbourhood of some two million people.

Another 17 people have been killed in Baghdad's Kadhimiyah and other northern regions in clashes and mortar attacks, Iraqi and US officials said. Mortar rounds targeting the Green Zone also killed two of Iraqi Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi's guards, security officials said.

Clashes also spread in the central holy city of Karbala overnight with 12 “criminals” killed, local police said. The southern city of Nasiriyah and its outskirts also saw fierce battles on Friday with local medics reporting at least 36 killed. Police in the central city of Kut said around 50 people had been killed there since Tuesday. Eight people have also been killed in Babel province south of the capital, Iraqi and US officials said.