The U.S. military on Saturday fired missiles at a target about 50 yards away from the general hospital in Baghdad's Sadr City district, injuring more than 20 people and destroying ambulances, hospital officials said. Accoding to the AP, Dr. Ali Bustan al-Fartusee, director general of Baghdad's health directorate, said that 23 civilians were hurt.
He said no patients in the hospital were hurt, but that some of the wounded included civilians outside on their way to visit patients, and that 17 ambulances were damaged.
Earlier, hospital officials said 28 people were injured.
The missile were fired from a launcher on the ground, the U.S. military said. It said in a press release that it destroyed a "criminal element command and control center" with missiles in northeastern Baghdad. The U.S. military also said that American forces "only engage hostile threats and take every precaution to protect innocent civilians."
More than 100 people have been wounded in clashes Friday and Saturday in Sadr City, Iraqi health officials said The U.S. military said Saturday that 10 gunmen were killed in fighting on Friday, including a sniper. Iraqi health officials said about 75 people were wounded in those clashes.
U.S. soldiers killed four gunmen early Saturday elsewhere in Baghdad, the military said.
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