BAGHDAD - A large number of militant followers of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr have been killed in clashes with US soldiers Sunday night in Baghdad, according to one of their leaders and Iraq police.
The US military said it had no information about the incident.
"More than 20 militants have been killed in the Mustafa mosque in the neighborhood of Ur," said Hazem al-Aaraji of Sadr`s movement, referring to a northeast Baghdad neighborhood near the Shiite quarter of Sadr City.
Iraqi police, meanwhile, said that ten members of Sadr`s movement had been killed in the clashes and said that the area had been sealed off by US forces.
Inhabitants close to the affected area of north Baghdad said they could hear gunfire and ambulances in this part of town and the black-clad members of Sadr`s Mehdi Army could be seen in the streets.
It was unclear how the clashes began.