From The Seattle PI
By Rawya Rageh

Iraqi and U.S. forces raided a Shiite militia stronghold of Baghdad Monday, triggering a gunbattle that left three people dead, while 10 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a funeral in Saddam Hussein’s hometown.

A roadside bombing southwest of Baghdad killed three U.S. soldiers late Sunday, the U.S. military said. No further details were released. Seven other people were killed and six bodies were found Sunday.

In Baghdad, sounds of heavy gunfire and explosions rattled the Sadr City district starting about 1 a.m. Monday and lasted for more than an hour. Iraqi government television and aides to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said U.S. aircraft were attacking buildings in the area.

“Several aerial and ground raids began in central Sadr City,” al-Sadr aide Jaleel al-Nouri said by telephone as detonations could be heard in the background. “We can see several houses on fire.”

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