Iraqi health officials say 2 killed, 25 wounded in clashes in Sadr City

Overnight clashes in Sadr City have killed two people and wounded 25, including five children, despite a reported cease-fire in the Iraqi capital's sprawling Shiite slum, Iraqi health officials said Monday.

The clashes erupted in Sadr City around midnight Sunday, marring the first day of a reported cease-fire between factions of Muqtada al-Sadr's political movement, who are thought to have influence over the extremists, and the Iraqi government.

Nasar al-Rubaie, a Sadrist lawmaker, said talks on final touches to the agreement were continuing Monday. Al-Rubaie said he could not comment on the latest clashes in Sadr City.

The health officials could not provide a breakdown for casualties and it was not clear if there were any militants among them. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The clashes came several hours after U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll warned Sunday that a truce had not yet been brokered and that the Iraqi government and Shiite representatives were still talking.

There was no immediate comment Monday from the Iraqi government.

The U.S. military expressed hope for a diplomatic solution to seven weeks of fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City that houses nearly half the capital's six million people.

The U.S. military has repeatedly said its clashes are with rogue elements of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. The bulk of al-Sadr's 60,000-strong Mahdi Army is not believed to have participated in the fighting, instead adhering to a general cease-fire ordered by al-Sadr last August.

Iraqi troops launched an operation inside Sadr City after militants began firing hundreds of rockets and mortars toward the heavily fortified Green Zone. Hundreds of people were killed or injured by the attacks and the subsequent fighting in the slum that is home to 2.5 million people.

In an effort to prevent extremists from using the southern section of Sadr City, U.S. and Iraqi forces are building a barrier — reaching up to a height of 12 feet (3.7 meters) — to isolate it and disrupt supply and escape routes for militants. It will enclose a 1.2 (1.8 kilometer) square mile area that houses nearly 800,000 people.

About 80 percent completed and with just two weeks remaining until it is done, the walled-in area will resemble many others around Baghdad.

Hundreds of civilians have fled their homes and aid groups claim some areas are desperately short of food and medicine after seven weeks of street battles. But the U.S. military said there was no humanitarian crisis and markets around Sadr City were open.