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Baghdad: At least 16 gunmen have been killed in US air strikes during clashes with Shiite militiamen in Basra, according to US military officials.
The air strikes were supporting Iraqi troops who have been trying to restore order after protracted deadly clashes in the southern Iraqi town.
Baghdad was locked down for the third straight day on Sunday after a weekened curfew was extended for an indefinite period to contain brutal clashes between Shiite gunmen and security forces.
On Saturday, Iraqi police said eight civilians, including two women and a child, had been killed after a US warplane destroyed a house.
At least 133 bodies and 647 wounded have been brought to five hospitals in eastern Baghdad over the past five days, eastern Baghdad's health chief Ali Bustan said on Saturday.
More than 200 people have been reported killed and hundreds wounded in the five days of fighting across southern Iraq and Baghdad since a crackdown on militants in Basra.
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