Seven killed in Baghdad Shia bastion

Baghdad: Overnight clashes between US forces and Shia militia in Baghdad’s Sadr City killed at least seven people, medical sources said on Thursday, but according to the American military three people died.

Medics at two hospitals in Sadr City said seven bodies had been brought in, together with 19 wounded people in violence in the Shia slum district since Wednesday. (AFP)

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Kuwait holds polls seeking stability

Kuwait City: Kuwait will hold a parliamentary election on Saturday seeking stability amid sectarian tensions, political rows and charges of infighting within the ruling Al-Sabah dynasty.

Voters will elect a 50-seat Parliament for the second time to replace the one dissolved by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah following a standoff between the Assembly and the government. (AFP)

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500 minors detained by US Army in Iraq

Washington: Around 500 minors are currently detained by the US Army in Iraq, as well as nearly a dozen juveniles in Afghanistan, a US civil liberties group revealed.

"Since 2002, the US has held approximately 2,500 individuals under the age of 18 at the time of their capture in Guantanamo Bay, in Iraq, and in Afghanistan," said a US government report for the UN children’s agency. (AFP)