Battles kill 13 in Sadr City, blockade eased

By Wisam Mohammed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 13 gunmen in clashes and air strikes overnight in the Baghdad stronghold of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who said the United States would remain his enemy until the "last drop of my blood."

Authorities eased a blockade on Saturday in the Sadr City district of eastern Baghdad that had trapped residents in the battle zone slum for two weeks.

Gunfire was audible and some roads remained closed, but cars were allowed in and out of some entrances to the slum, home to 2 million Shi'ites and power base of Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia.

Several hundred people have died in clashes between Sadr's followers and U.S. and Iraqi forces since late March, when Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against the militia in the southern city of Basra.

Sadr ordered his fighters off the streets on March 30, but the showdown has continued in his Baghdad stronghold, turning Sadr City into a key front in the five-year-old war.

The Baghdad and Basra fighting has thrust Iraq back onto centre stage of the U.S. presidential election race.

Residents described the night's clashes as among the worst since Iraqi forces launched an offensive into the area a week ago. A U.S. military statement said at least 13 gunmen were killed in one overnight battle.

Reacting to the upsurge in violence, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates appeared to reach out to Sadr on Friday, saying the cleric would not be treated as an enemy if he played a peaceful role in Iraqi politics.