And George wants to turn the place into a democracy. heh.
---------------------------------------
UK troops clash with Basra gunmen
Witnesses said British patrols came under attack
Hundreds of Iraqi militiamen loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have clashed with UK troops in Basra.
Members of his militia attacked patrols across the city in an apparent attempt to take control, witnesses said.
The fighting comes a day after his representative offered money for the capture or killing of coalition troops.
The British military in Basra said two Iraqis had been killed, and one coalition soldier lightly injured in continuing violence.
One hospital is reporting several other Iraqis wounded.
Headquarters surrounded
Reports said British troops in some 50 vehicles had surrounded Mr Sadr's headquarters in Basra, with gunmen inside, though there was no immediate outbreak of fighting.
The Ministry of Defence said troops were taking "appropriate action" in response to Mr Sadr's militia.
Iraq Coalition Authority spokesman Dominic D'Angelo said many exchanges were taking place.
Clashes erupted, he said, after hundreds of militiamen supporting Mr Sadr took to Basra's streets.
The violence comes a day after Mr Sadr made a defiant speech in his home town of Kufa, near Najaf.
And his top aide in Basra, Sheikh Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli, told worshippers at Basra's al-Hawi mosque, he would give $350 to anyone who captures a British soldier and $150 for killing one.
He also said any Iraqi who took a female soldier could keep her as a slave or gift to himself.
Mr Sadr's men have been clashing with US troops around Najaf and Karbala all week.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3695787.stm
---------------------------------------
UK troops clash with Basra gunmen
Witnesses said British patrols came under attack
Hundreds of Iraqi militiamen loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr have clashed with UK troops in Basra.
Members of his militia attacked patrols across the city in an apparent attempt to take control, witnesses said.
The fighting comes a day after his representative offered money for the capture or killing of coalition troops.
The British military in Basra said two Iraqis had been killed, and one coalition soldier lightly injured in continuing violence.
One hospital is reporting several other Iraqis wounded.
Headquarters surrounded
Reports said British troops in some 50 vehicles had surrounded Mr Sadr's headquarters in Basra, with gunmen inside, though there was no immediate outbreak of fighting.
The Ministry of Defence said troops were taking "appropriate action" in response to Mr Sadr's militia.
Iraq Coalition Authority spokesman Dominic D'Angelo said many exchanges were taking place.
Clashes erupted, he said, after hundreds of militiamen supporting Mr Sadr took to Basra's streets.
The violence comes a day after Mr Sadr made a defiant speech in his home town of Kufa, near Najaf.
And his top aide in Basra, Sheikh Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli, told worshippers at Basra's al-Hawi mosque, he would give $350 to anyone who captures a British soldier and $150 for killing one.
He also said any Iraqi who took a female soldier could keep her as a slave or gift to himself.
Mr Sadr's men have been clashing with US troops around Najaf and Karbala all week.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3695787.stm
