Coalition Soldier Dies in Karbala Battle

[Barrett808]

Coalition Soldier Dies in Karbala Battle
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Clashes with Shiite militiamen loyal to a radical cleric left one coalition soldier dead in a southern Iraqi city on Wednesday, while hundreds of Iraqis protested the treatment of prisoners in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison.

The Polish command in Iraq said in a statement that the soldier was killed in Karbala in fighting with a militia loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. There was no immediate information on the nationality of the soldier. Polish peacekeepers are active in the area.

U.S. soldiers clashed repeatedly earlier this week with al-Sadr militiamen in the nearby city of Najaf, where the anti-American cleric is based.

President Bush was to conduct brief interviews with the U.S.-sponsored Al-Hurra television network and the Arab network Al Arabiya on Wednesday to address Arab and Iraqi outrage at photographs of prisoners being abused by smiling American guards.

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