Six Die in U.S. Air Strikes on Sadr City

At least six people died during the past 24 hours from two U.S. air strikes in Sadr City area in Baghdad, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said Thursday.

The official said two people died and four others were injured in a strike on a building Thursday in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi security forces have been fighting the Mehdi Army, a Shiite militia loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr, CNN reported. A U.S. air strike Wednesday killed four people and injured six others in the neighborhood.

To the north, two car bombs targeting police checkpoints in Mosul exploded, killing three people and injuring as many as 30 others, U.S. military officials told CNN. A police truck was destroyed and two buildings were set afire.

U.S. and Iraqi troops have stepped up operations in Mosul during the last few months against al-Qaida in Iraq, the predominantly Sunni militant group.

In Baghdad, meanwhile, police said they plan to lift vehicle bans in Sadr City and Shula, two neighborhoods where fighting has intensified recently, CNN reported. Baghdad Operations Command said the ban in Shula will end at 6 a.m. Friday and in Sadr City at 6 a.m. Saturday.