US forces backed by British artillery and American aircraft have attacked the Hayaniya district of Iraqi city of Basra, witnesses say.

Loud explosions were heard in the area which was bombed during the operation on Saturday, DPA reported.

The district also witnessed intense firefights between US-Iraqi troops and Iraqi gunmen, according to Iraq's interior ministry.

The northern Hayaniyah district of the city is under the control of the Iraqi troops after the operation which lasted several hours, ministry spokesman Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf said.

Witnesses said the attacks resulted in casualties, authorities have yet declined to comment on the issue.

A US military statement, however, claimed that British artillery and US aircraft bombed ' criminal rocket and mortar sites west of Hayaniyah'.



Hayaniyah, a stronghold of supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has seen firefights since March 25 when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on them in the southern port city.

Since then US warplanes have carried out several air strikes in the district targeting what they call extremists. Scores of people including women and children have been killed.

Al-Sadr whose forces have been observing an eight-month-old ceasefire accuses Maliki of working 'under US pressure'.

The Cleric maintains that continued US occupation of the country is the main reason behind Iraq's woes.

DT/DT