Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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Iraqi, US Forces Battle Gunmen in Central Baghdad
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=15B2B43:A6F02AD83191E160B986587092BFAD949574F7DCC14957C0 Police say
fighting erupted when gunmen attacked Iraqi army checkpoint in Haifa
Street area, a known stronghold of Sunni insurgents Iraqi police say a
fierce gun battle raged in central Baghdad Tuesday.







Iraqi soldiers guard a position on a bridge in central Baghdad 09 Jan
2007Police say the fighting erupted when gunmen attacked an Iraqi army
checkpoint in the Haifa Street area, which is a known stronghold of
Sunni insurgents.

Authorities say U.S. troops joined the fighting when Iraqi forces
called for help.

The U.S. military says the operation in continuing.

In other news, a new videotape posted on the Internet Tuesday shows
the body of Saddam Hussein after being hanged December 30.

The clandestine mobile phone recording shows a sheet being removed to
reveal Saddam's neck severely twisted and with a gaping, bloody wound.

A voice on the footage was heard addressing someone named Abu Ali and
urging him to "hurry up."

An earlier unauthorized video that showed Saddam being taunted just
before his execution heightened tensions between Iraq's Sunni and
Shi'ite communities.

On Monday, the U.N. refugee agency said one out of every eight Iraqis
has been forced to flee home to escape violence.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees is appealing for $60 million
to help the refugees and internally displaced Iraqis.

U.N.H.C.R. spokesman Ron Redmond told VOA that Iraq's neighbors do not
have the resources to deal with the refugees.

The agency says up to 50,000 Iraqis flee their homes every month,
making it the largest population displacement in the Middle East in
over half a century.

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.


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