Iraq Violence 2 - Sadr City attacks kill 7, hospital
NAME: IRQ VIOLENCE 2 20080409I
TAPE: EF08/0379
IN_TIME: 10:23:24:10
DURATION: 00:03:12:12
SOURCES: AP TELEVISION
DATELINE: Baghdad - 9 Apr 2008
RESTRICTIONS:
SHOTLIST:
Sadr City
1. Wide of Mahdi army militia running out onto street to fire weapons, AUDIO of gunfire
2. Various of gunmen, AUDIO of gunfire
3. Wide of gunmen
Sadr City
4. Various of deserted streets in Baghdad's Sadr City area
5. Exterior of Imam Ali hospital
6. Sign reading (Arabic): "Imam Ali General hospital"
7. Various of wounded people, including children, lying on hospital beds
8. Various of relatives of victims strapping coffins to roofs of cars
9. Relatives hugging and crying next to car
10. Man crying over coffin on roof of car, as other continue securing coffin on roof
11. Wide of relatives standing on top of cars, strapping on coffins
Central Baghdad
12. Various wide shots of Iraqi army checkpoint with concrete blast walls and razor wire fence
13. View through barbed wire of Iraq soldiers at checkpoint
14. Various of Iraqi soldiers at checkpoint
15. Various of Iraqi police in Kahramana square
16. Mid of Brigadier General Hussein Jadoo talking to police officers
17. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Brigadier General Hussein Jadoo, commander of Rusafa Police:
"We are ready to fulfil any mission assigned to us. And we are ready to meet any kind of service or emergency case the citizens need as we are always under the disposal of people."
18. Various of Firdous Square with statue that replaced Saddam Hussein's (pulled down by US troops on 9 April 2003)
19. Mid of police in square
20. Close-up of gun with monument in distance
21. Wide of square with deserted street
STORYLINE:
The death toll reached 16 in Baghdad's Sadr City area on Wednesday as clashes between security forces and Shiite militiamen continued in the Iraqi capital, a day after top US Commander General David Petraeus called for a suspension of US troop withdrawals.
AP Television showed gunmen firing weapons on the streets of Sadr City.
Police earlier said that seven people in Sadr City, including three children, died when projectiles slammed into a house in the impoverished area, a stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Dozens more were wounded, said a hospital official who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Eyewitnesses in the area said that the attack, which occurred at 10 am local time (0700 GMT), was carried out by US helicopters but police said the blasts were caused by mortar rounds.
The US military had no immediate comment.
AP Television footage showed injured people in hospital and relatives of victims mourning as they transported away coffins in preparation for funerals.
The violence served as stark reminders of Iraq's continuing instability five years after US troops swept into Baghdad and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime on April 9, 2003.
The euphoria of victory was soon dissipated, first by a Sunni insurgency, then Sunni-Shiite slaughter and now battles against Shiite militiamen.
On the eve of the anniversary, the Iraqi military ordered vehicles and motorcycles off the streets of Baghdad from 5 am (0200 GMT)on Wednesday until midnight, a move apparently aimed at preventing Shiite gunmen from moving freely about the city.
AP Television footage showed Iraqi troops manning checkpoints in the centre of the city.
Police Brigadier General Hussein Jadoo said his men were ready to "fulfil any mission assigned to us".
The vehicle ban was imposed despite a decision by al-Sadr to call off his "million-strong" demonstration set for Wednesday to demand an end to the American military presence.
Still, eyewitnesses described the situation in much of Sadr City on Wednesday as calmer than the previous days, despite the sounds of explosions and sporadic gunfire.
Al-Sadr's Mahdi militia has been battling American and Iraqi soldiers in the sprawling neighbourhood.
Fearing the demonstration might trigger violence throughout Baghdad, Iraqi soldiers began turning back military-aged men travelling to the capital on Tuesday from Shiite areas to the south.
Al-Sadr then called off the rally, apparently fearing a modest turnout would display weakness at a time when he is locked in a violent power struggle with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a fellow Shiite.
Al-Maliki has told al-Sadr to disband his militia or give up politics.
In Washington, Petraeus called on Tuesday for an open-ended suspension of US troop withdrawals this summer because of concern over the renewed fighting in Iraq.