BAGHDAD, March 26 (Reuters) - Many people were killed and wounded by a U.S. air strike called in support of Iraqi forces in the town of Hilla south of Baghdad, Iraqi security sources said. One police source said at least 11 people were killed and 18 wounded in the strike, launched after Iraqi security forces called for support following street battles with Shi'ite militia members in the city's Thawra neighbourhood. Another police source said 29 people were killed and 39 were wounded. Two other security sources said the combined total of dead and wounded was in the dozens, although they were unable to give precise casualty figures. All of the sources spoke under condition they not be named. A spokeswoman for U.S. forces south of Baghdad said she was checking the reports. Iraqi security forces have battled Shi'ite militia in several southern cities and Shi'ite areas of Baghdad for the past two days. (Reporting by Sami al-Jumaily and Habib al-Zubaidy; writing by Peter Graff)
Supporters of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hold signs during a protest in Baghdad's Amil district March 25, 2008. Shi'ite cleric al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia appeared in a show of force in ...
