Gorilla’s Guides

Child trying to hide behind a barrel as American invaders invade his home in al-Shula.

Meanwhile on the outskirts of Sadr City:

The U.S. military said all those killed were members of “special groups”, military jargon for rogue units of Sadr’s Mehdi Army militia accused of receiving funding and training from Iran. 

In the courtyard of one house in Obaidi, a Mehdi Army bastion, black-robed women wailed over the bloody corpse of a man half-covered by a blanket, while men beat their chests in a sign of grief.

An official at police headquarters in eastern Baghdad said 11 bodies had been removed from Obaidi, including three elderly men, two street cleaners and three Mehdi Army fighters.

He blamed U.S. snipers for the killings.

The Mehdi Army has largely stuck to a truce agreed 11 days ago to end weeks of fighting with Iraqi and U.S. troops in Sadr City, although it has been punctuated by skirmishes.

The U.S. military says special groups have has not complied with the truce.