Seven people were killed and 21 others wounded in a shootout between Shiite militants and U.S. and Iraqi forces in eastern Baghdad's Sadr City on early Friday, an Iraqi Interior Ministry source said.

The U.S. and Iraqi troops carried out attacks backed by helicopters on houses in the sprawling slum district of Sadr City at 2:00 a.m. (2200 GMT Thursday) against the Mehdi Army of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the source said.

The raid targeted a senior Mehdi Army leader believed to be involved in several kidnappings, said the source, adding that the joint forces evacuated at about 6:00 a.m. (0200 GMT).

U.S. forces also arrested a Shiite imam living in Sadr City, Adnan al-Oneibi, according to Sahib al-Amiri, an official in Sadr's movement.

In February and March, the U.S. and Iraqi forces carried out raids against suspects involved in kidnapping rings living in eastern Baghdad, which resulted in clashes with the local Shiite militia.

Source: Xinhua