Clashes in Baghdad kill 4, injure 38

BAGHDAD, May 18 (UPI) -- Overnight fighting between Shiite rebels and U.S. and Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad killed four people and left 38 people injured, authorities said Sunday.

The clashes broke out despite the ceasefire agreement reached last week between the United Iraqi Alliance and insurgents fighting for rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, CNN reported.

Violence began in Baghdad's Sadr City district in the end of March after the start of a government operation to stop insurgents in Basra, in northern Iraq.

The government offensive prompted fighting in Basra that carried into Baghdad.