The US military says it killed 49 "criminals" in clashes in the Baghdad district of Sadr City yesterday in a raid to capture a militant suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of US soldiers in Iraq.
According to a witness, the US strikes also killed two toddlers in the poor district, the main stronghold in Baghdad for the Mehdi Army, a Shi'ite militia loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Iraqi police say 13 people were killed and 69 wounded.
The bodies of the toddlers, one in a nappy, lay on blankets in the morgue of Imam Ali hospital in Sadr City where doctors tended to wounded men, some elderly, and boys.
Hundreds of local residents, wailing and chanting "There is no God but Allah", carried wooden coffins through the streets.
The US military says in a statement the operation in Sadr City targeted criminals believed to be responsible for kidnapping US soldiers in May this year and November 2006.
"Coalition forces estimate that 49 criminals were killed in three separate engagements during the operation. Ground forces reported they were unaware of any civilians being killed as a result of this operation."
Three US soldiers were kidnapped south of Baghdad in May. The body of one was later found that month but the other two are classed as missing and captured. Sunni Arab Islamists from al Qaeda in Iraq have claimed responsibility for the abductions.
Abdul-Mehdi al-Muteyri, a senior Sadr official, called Sunday's attack "simply barbaric".
"Most of those killed and wounded were women, children and elderly men which shows the indiscriminate monstrosity of the attacks on this crowded area," he said.
Questions:
1. How many people were wounded in the US air strikes?
2. What is the name of the city where the strikes took place?
3. How did Abdul-Mehdi al-Muteyri, describe the attack?
Answers:
1. 69.
2. Sadr City.
3. "Simply barbaric".
（英语点津 Linda 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Marc Checkley is a freelance journalist and media producer from Auckland, New Zealand. Marc has an eclectic career in the media/arts, most recently working as a radio journalist for NewstalkZB, New Zealand’s leading news radio network, as a feature writer for Travel Inc, New Nutrition Business (UK) and contributor for Mana Magazine and the Sunday Star Times. Marc is also a passionate arts educator and is involved in various media/theatre projects in his native New Zealand and Singapore where he is currently based. Marc joins the China Daily with support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
