Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi state television said Friday that U.S. air strike killed 16 people in Sadr City, a Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad, while the U.S. military said they raided the Shiite bastion and detained a suspected militant.

    Al-Iraqia, the Iraqi state-run television, reported the incident, adding 14 more people were wounded in the attack.

    The U.S. military did not confirmed the incident.

    However, a U.S. military statement announced on Friday the capture of a suspected militant linked to a network accused of facilitating import of sophisticated roadside bombs, known as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, allegedly coming from neighboring Iran.

    "The suspect is believed to be involved with several violent extremist groups responsible for attacks against the Iraqi people and Coalition Forces and facilitating the movement of EFPs into Iraq," the statement said.

    It was not clear whether the air strike took place during the U.S. raid on the neighborhood or in a separate incident.

    Previously, the U.S. military had accused Iran of providing Iraqi Shiite militia with weapons and parts for sophisticated armored-piercing bombs.

    According to the U.S. military, the EFPs are responsible for the deaths of more than 170 U.S. and coalition soldiers since mid-2004.