ROME, April 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Fifteen supporters of Iraq's Shiite Muslim leader Moqtada Sadr were killed and eleven Italian soldiersslightly wounded when the two sides clashed early Tuesday in the southern Iraqi town of Nassiriya, Italian media reported.

¡¡¡¡The clashes occurred when Italian soldiers were trying to disperse several hundred Shiites blocking bridges in the town, about 375 km south of Baghdad, the reports said.

    The reports quoted military sources as saying that three soldiers suffered minor leg wounds in the gunfire while the others received bruises and light cuts from shrapnel.

    The reports said the situation in Nassiriya remained tense. Officials in the Italian contingent and those from the Coalition Provisional Authority are currently negotiating with the followers of Moqtada Sadr in a bid to restore calm in the city.

    Violent clashes broke out Sunday between Sadr's supporters and the US forces, leaving eight US soldiers and at least 28 Iraqis killed. Sadr is a cleric fiercely opposed to the US-led occupation.

    The events were ignited by the decision of the coalition provisional authority to close the Hawza newspaper that speaks for Sadr and the arrest of one of his top aides, Shaikh Mustafa Al Yaaqubi, last month.

    The US-led coalition on Monday issued an arrest warrant againstSadr who was allegedly involved in the murder of a rival cleric.

    About 2,500 Italian troops are serving in southern Iraq in a multinational force under British command. Enditem