Iraqi leader blasts U.S.

It just keeps getting worse!

Iraqi leader blasts U.S.:

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's prime minister sharply criticized a U.S.-Iraqi attack Monday on a Shiite militia stronghold in Baghdad, breaking with his American partners on security tactics as the United States launches a major operation to secure the capital.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's criticism followed a pre-dawn air and ground attack on an area of Sadr City, stronghold of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia.

Police said three people, including a woman and a child, were killed in the raid, which the U.S. command said was aimed at ''individuals involved in punishment and torture cell activities.''

One U.S. soldier was wounded, the U.S. said.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, said he was ''very angered and pained'' by the operation, warning that it could undermine his efforts toward national reconciliation.