Baghdad: At least 20 people have died after clashes between US troops and militiamen loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr at a mosque in Baghdad.
Iraqi police say US troops raided the Shi'ite mosque sparking off fierce clashes with militiamen.
However, US forces have denied raiding the mosque, saying they only retaliated after coming under fire from insurgents hidden in the mosque.
While the police claim that 22 people have died and eight injured in the attack, American military personnel are saying that 16 'insurgents' were killed by Iraqi special forces and the US troops were simply used as backup.
Eyewitnesses claim 18 bodies of Iraqis killed in the operation have been recovered.
Shi'ite leaders have alleged that the US forces also raided a political party office - Islamic Dawa Party-Iraq Organisation - near the mosque.
The gunbattle allegedly began when the US forces came under fire from an unknown source in the direction of the mosque.
Sadr aides, on the other hand, claim that party members were holding a peaceful, cultural meeting in an office near the mosque and that they did not who fired at the US troops.
They claim that the US forces raided the party office, tortured and then executed innocent men, who had nothing to do with the acts of violence.
The violence upset the already unstable political situation in Iraq amidst which Iraqi leaders are struggling to form a new government.
Sadr is aggressively outspoken against the presence of US troops in Iraq and is a potent political force with over 30 members in Iraq'a new Parliament.
(With inputs from agencies)
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