Iraqi authorities impose curfew in Baghdad

IRAQ: Iraqi authorities have imposed a three-day total curfew in Baghdad until Sunday in a bid to contain violent clashes between Shiite militants and security forces, security officials told AFP late Thursday.

They said the curfew will be effective until 5:00 am (0200 GMT) on Sunday.

State television Al-Iraqiya said the curfew would cover people and vehicles across the capital. The lockdown follows fierce clashes between Shiite militants and Iraqi and US forces over the past three days in which dozens of people have been killed.

Most of the fighting has pitted Iraqi forces against Shiite gunmen in areas controlled by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, especially in its eastern Baghdad bastion of Sadr City.

The clashes started in the southern city of Basra where Iraqi troops launched a crackdown on Shiite fighters on Tuesday but quickly spread to Sadr City and other Shiite regions, killing more than 100 people.

Baghdad, Friday, AFP