An Iraqi boy stands near a huge crater in Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City, 07 September 2004. Iraq was steeped in blood as a fledgling truce in a Baghdad rebel bastion of Sadr City was shattered by fresh fighting that officials said left 40 killed and scores wounded, while the US death count neared the 1,000 mark. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO)

An Iraqi youth displays a part of a machingun he claims that it belong to US troops in
Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City, 07 September 2004. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO)

Iraqi youth celebrate around a cart carrying a huge metal piece they clam that it is a part of a
US armored vehicle in Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City, 07 September 2004. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO)

   BAGHDAD, Sept. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Around 40 people were killed in fierce battles between US forces and insurgents loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad district of Sadr City on Tuesday, the health ministry said.

   The clashes between US forces and militiamen loyal to Sadr erupted when US soldiers attacked one of the Shiite muslim mosques in the neighborhood, witnesses said.

   US troops were backed by tanks and armored vehicles deployed in the poor Shiite slum as helicopters flew overheads, witnesses added.

   The US military announced a US soldier was killed in an ambush in Sadr city overnight.  Enditem