Air attacks hit Basra and Hilla Friday amid fighting between Iraqi soldiers and the Mehdi Army militia, al-Sumaria reported Friday. U.S. forces said they took a Mehdi Army militia member into custody.

A car bomb blast Thursday killed three people and injured 10 in western Baghdad's Harithiya District, the network reported.

Al-Qibla was hit with U.S. air attacks Wednesday, killing three family members and injuring three others. U.S. forces confirmed the air attack killed an armed man and demolished a home.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari was the target of an attempted assassination in al-Qibla, which is a base for the Mehdi Army. A Basra police officer said Youssef al-Mousawi, a militia leader, and six others were arrested by army forces.