Five Iraqi civilians were wounded by U.S. tank fire in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City early Sunday, a hospital official said. The injured were being treated at al-Sadr Hospital, the hospital director Abdel-Jabar Solag said. There was no immediate report from the U.S. military about fighting in the slum, located in western Baghdad, which has been the scene of daily clashes and shelling. U.S. and Iraqi forces are attempting to root out insurgents of the al-Mahdi Army who follow Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Aides of the cleric have recently indicated al-Sadr may seek to enter the political arena ahead of January general elections. The Iraqi government says it would welcome such a move but insists he must first disband his militia.
