BAGHDAD - Fresh clashes erupted between Shiite militia and US and Iraqi forces in Baghdad late Friday, a security official said.
An Iraqi official with the interior ministry said a fierce firefight broke out in Baghdad's northeastern Al-Shab neighbourhood but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
He said American and Iraqi troops backed by US aircraft were also seen heading towards Sadr City from the northern side of the district which is a bastion of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The US military when contacted said it was checking these reports.
Shiite fighters, mostly from the feared Mahdi Army militia of Sadr, have been fighting fierce street battles with Iraqi and US forces since Sunday in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City.
The US military has even carried out air strikes against suspected militiamen over the past few days.
At least 75 people have been killed since Sunday in Sadr City, a sprawling district of some two million people. Scores of people have been wounded.
Many of those killed have been shot dead by snipers, local medics in Sadr City said.
ak-jds/mat
04/11/2008 20:16 GMT