Al Jazeera English - News - Many Killed In Fresh Iraq Fighting

"Otherwise, they will face the most severe penalties."

'Disobedience' appeal

Officials said the latest fighting broke out in Sadr City early on Wednesday.

Clashes were also reported in the Mahdi Army's southern strongholds of Al-Gaazaiza, Al-Garma, Khmasamene, Al-Hayania and Al-Maqal.

Three US government officials were injured after rockets and mortars were fired into the capital's fortified Green Zone.

The violence comes after Iraq's security forces launched raids on strongholds of Sadr's Mahdi Army fighters on Tuesday.

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The internal sectarian conflict in Iraq
As the fighting broke out, al-Sadr issued a statement calling for demonstrations across the country and threatened "civil disobedience" if attacks by US and Iraqi forces on members of his movement continued.

"We demand that religious and political leaders intervene to stop the attacks on poor people," a statement read by Hazam al-Aaraji, an al-Sadr representative, said.

"We call on all Iraqis to launch protests across all the provinces. If the government does not respect these demands, the second step will be general civil disobedience in Baghdad and the Iraqi provinces."

Falah Shenshal, an MP allied to al-Sadr, told Al Jazeera that al-Maliki was targeting political opponents.

"They say they target outlaw gangs but why do they start with the areas where the sons of the Sadr movement are located?"

"This is a political battle ... for the political interests of one party [al-Maliki's Dawa party] because the local elections are coming soon.

"They are using the law for their political interests. We will ask the parliament to drop confidence from the Maliki government."

Basra operation

The fighting in Basra, where al-Sadr's followers maintain a strong presence, began before dawn on Tuesday in what the Iraqi government called an operation to win control of the city from militias and criminal gangs.

Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, was in the oil hub city to personally oversee the operation involving thousands of Iraqi troops.

Ali al-Dabbagh, an Iraqi government spokesman, told Al Jazeera that the security forces were fighting against "those that are exploiting the name of the Mahdi, those that are exploiting the name of Muqtada al-Sadr".

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"There will be no dialogue with them [the fighters] but there definitely will be dialogue with Muqtada al-Sadr himself," he said.

By nightfall, many towns and cities across southern Iraq were under curfew to try to stem spreading violence.

Police sources said supporters of al-Sadr seized control of five neighbourhoods in the southern town of Kut after clashing with police.

In Hilla, police battled Mahdi Army fighters in two districts in the centre of the southern town.

'Ceasefire'

The Mahdi Army has grown frustrated with a ceasefire imposed by al-Sadr last year.

Its fighters say the ceasefire has been abused by US and Iraqi forces to make indiscriminate arrests ahead of provincial elections.

The US military says it is targeting only "rogue" members who have broken the ceasefire, and has cited the truce as a main factor in a significant drop in violence across the country.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Ali, a member of al-Sadr's office in Basra, said the group could not understand why Iraqi security forces had launched an operation against it.

Al-Maliki was personally overseeing the
military operation in Basra [AFP]

"This ongoing operation in Basra appears to be security-related, while, in fact, it is a political one," he told Al Jazeera.

"The al-Sadr trend in Basra has frequently said that it supports the Iraqi government and the Iraqi forces in Basra.

"Al-Mahdi Army is not a military army, as some believe. It is a doctrinal army that serves the society. And that is why al-Mahdi Army has had a great role in supporting the Iraqi security forces in Basra."

Basra province was handed over to Iraqi control by British forces in mid-December and Tuesday's operation was seen as a test for the security forces.