Baghdad, Iraq – Armed followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Mahmoud al-Hassani al-Sarkhi opened fire on Iraqi forces with rifles and grenade launchers in Karbala on Tuesday after the army raided his offices.
At least four men were killed during an extended gunfight, and 50 of al-Sarkhi’s followers were detained. Iraqi police closed off the city southwest of Baghdad and enforced a three-day curfew.
The fighting came on a day of violent clashes around Iraq.
Al-Sarkhi, who claims to be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, is a controversial figure because of his criticism of other more influential Shiite clergymen such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The clash began after the Iraqi army attempted to seize an empty building next to al-Sarkhi’s headquarters, leading to a raid on his office.
“We had fears that we might be targeted through this building,” said an al-Sarkhi follower.
In the northern city of Mosul, a cement truck loaded with explosives detonated Tuesday outside the headquarters of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s party, killing at least eight members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and injuring 37 others. Flames engulfed at least a dozen cars.
Also on Tuesday, U.S. military officials reversed their earlier denial of an Iraqi police claim that an insurgent attack caused a series of explosions Sunday that killed 63 people. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell IV said Monday that an internal gas explosion was the cause of the deaths, but on Tuesday the military said two car bombs ruptured a gas line and triggered a series of other explosions.
In the southern city of Basra on Tuesday, demonstrators protested for the second day over gas shortages in the oil-rich region, burning tires and demanding the government solve their energy woes. British troops said that three of their bases were targeted by Katyusha rockets but reported no casualties.
In Fallujah, a rocket damaged a U.S. Humvee, sparking a melee between Marines and gunmen that left one Iraqi dead and three Marines injured.
