U.S. Fire Kills 7 Shiite Militants in Iraq

Clashes between U.S. troops and the Mehdi Army killed at least seven Shiite militants in the Sadr City suburb of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Sunday.

Nine Iraqis were killed and 15 were injured in fighting Saturday, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.

U.S. troops said they demolished two large stockpiles of arms on two separate occasions Saturday in Sadr City, CNN reported.

U.S. and Iraqi soldiers have been intensely fighting with cleric Moqtada Sadr’s Mehdi Army in Sadr City in the past weeks.

The radical Shiite cleric Saturday issued his last warning that he was going to declare war if the fighting in Sadr City does not stop. Using mosque loudspeakers, Sadr encouraged his supporters to fight against the occupier, a witness told CNN.