PHOTO CAPTION:
An Iraqi boy observes U.S. military helicopters flying over a burning U.S. tank after an attack by militants, in eastern Baghdad, August 16, 2004. Fighting raged between American soldiers and the Mehdi militia in a Shi'ite slum in Baghdad, where gunmen exploded a bomb under a U.S. tank and then set it on fire. The crew escaped with minor wounds, a U.S. army spokesman said. A U.S. helicopter gunship later strafed the street where the tank was hit. Militiamen responded with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani


BAGHDAD, Aug 16 (Reuters) Fierce clashes raged in Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite suburb today with militiamen destroying a U.S. tank, witnesses said.

U.S. forces had sealed Sadr City, a slum of two million people on the edge of the capital, earlier today after days of skirmishes that coincided with a radical Shi'ite uprising in at least eight cities in central and southern Iraq.

The witnesses said Mehdi Army militiamen loyal to firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr hit a tank with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and set it ablaze.

Reuters Television footage showed the tank on fire. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. military.

A U.S. helicopter gunship later strafed the street where the tank was hit. Militiamen fired more RPGs and assualt rifles.

Iraqi youths celebrate on top of a burning U.S. Army tank after it came under attack by militants in the eastern Baghdad's Shi'ite suburb of al-Sadr city August 16, 2004. Fresh fighting between U.S. forces and Sadr's Mehdi militia broke out in a Shi'ite slum in Baghdad, witnesses said. They said U.S. troops were sealing off the area, called Sadr City. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Iraqi youths chant anti-U.S. slogans near a burning U.S. Army tank after it came under attack by militants in the eastern Baghdad's Shi'ite suburb of al-Sadr city August 16, 2004. Fresh fighting between U.S. forces and Sadr's Mehdi militia broke out in a Shi'ite slum in Baghdad, witnesses said. They said U.S. troops were sealing off the area, called Sadr City. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Smoke billows out of a U.S. Army tank after it came under attack by militants in the eastern Baghdad Shi'ite suburb of al-Sadr city August 16, 2004. Fresh fighting between U.S. forces and Sadr's Mehdi militia broke out in a Shi'ite slum in Baghdad, witnesses said. They said U.S. troops were sealing off the area, called Sadr City. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

A U.S. Army tank burns after it came under attack by militants in eastern Baghdad, August 16, 2004. Fighting raged between American soldiers and the Mehdi militia in a Shi'ite slum in Baghdad, where gunmen exploded a bomb under a U.S. tank and then set it on fire. The crew escaped with minor wounds, a U.S. army spokesman said. A U.S. helicopter gunship later strafed the street where the tank was hit. Militiamen responded with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

An Iraqi boy stares at a burning U.S. Army tank after it came under attack by militants in eastern Baghdad, August 16, 2004. Fighting raged between American soldiers and the Mehdi militia in a Shi'ite slum in Baghdad, where gunmen exploded a bomb under a U.S. tank and then set it on fire. The crew escaped with minor wounds, a U.S. army spokesman said. A U.S. helicopter gunship later strafed the street where the tank was hit. Militiamen responded with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Iraqi children look at a burning American armored vehicle attacked by insurgents during clashes with American troops in the volatile Sadr city neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq Monday Aug. 16, 2004. (AP Photo/Adel Mizban)