Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

A man grieves after a relative was killed during clashes between U.S. forces and suspected insurgents in Baghdad's Shula district August 24, 2007. Ten people died and 20 were wounded in clashes between U.S. forces and gunmen overnight in the Shula district in western Baghdad, police said on Friday.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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    BAGHDAD, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. troops backed by aircraft clashed with Shiite militiamen in north of Baghdad early on Friday, killing at least ten people and wounding some 20 others, an Interior Ministry source said.

    The pre-dawn clashes erupted after the U.S. helicopters fired at the Mahdi Army militiamen, loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in the neighborhood of Shu'la, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The helicopter fire killed at least ten people and wounded 20others, along with damaging several houses, the source added. The U.S. military did not confirm the incident, but said they were checking reports.

    Shu'la neighborhood is one of the main strongholds in Baghdad for Shiite militia, including the Mahdi Army, who the U.S. forces claim were responsible for 73 percent of attacks on their troops in Baghdad in July.