Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    BAGHDAD, May 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. aircraft struck the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad during a raid early Sunday morning, killing a civilian and wounding eight others, a well-informed police source said.

    U.S. and Iraqi security forces raided the vast bastion, known as hotbed of militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and conducted a house-to-house search, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    U.S. aircraft flew over the area and carried out airstrike, badly damaging two houses, killing one person and wounding eight others, the source said.

    The attack charred seven civilian cars, he added.

    The U.S. military did not confirm the incident yet. U.S. and Iraqi security forces have staged a security plan in the capital since February 14 with an aim of putting rampant violence under control.