Five die in clash Baghdad's Sadr City

BAGHDAD, May 28 (UPI) -- Fighting between U.S. troops and militant forces in Baghdad's Sadr City killed five people and wounded eight, Iraq's Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The fighting occurred in Sadr City's Fadhailiya district, scene of several clashes between U.S.- and Iraqi-led forces and supporters of rebel Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, CNN reported.

Since a cease-fire was reached this month, violence in Sadr City has dropped, the Interior Ministry official said.

Police reported at least four people were killed and 46 hurt Tuesday when a car bomb detonated in Talafer in northern Iraq.

The explosion occurred in a crowded market, a local police officer told Xinhua. Women and children were among the victims, police told the Chinese state-run news agency.

Talafer is about 40 miles west of Mosul, considered to be the last urban location where al-Qaida holds sway, Xinhua said. Just days earlier, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said he believed coalition security forces are closer than ever to defeating al-Qaida, though U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said Sunday the insurgency is still a serious obstacle to peace.