US military: 12 militants die as Baghdad violence increases
BAGHDAD (AP) — A U.S. military spokesman says 12 criminal fighters have been killed during an "uptick" in clashes in Baghdad's main Shiite district of Sadr City.
The announcement Sunday comes after anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr warned he will declare war if a U.S.-Iraqi crackdown against his followers is not stopped.
Lt. Col. Steve Stover says "there was an uptick in violence in comparison with the past couple of weeks."
The deadliest strike was when seven militants attacked a U.S. checkpoint just before 8 a.m. in Sadr City. He says U.S. troops killed the heavily armed men, then killed two other snipers firing at them from a rooftop.
Stover says three other militants were killed while trying to plant roadside bombs earlier in Sadr City.
