Iraq's government imposed a weekend curfew in Baghdad on Thursday amid clashes between government troops and Shiite militia fighters, and US Embassy staff were told to remain indoors after days of rocket attacks left two US government employees dead.
The curfew, which took effect at 11 p.m. Thursday (4 p.m. ET), bans pedestrian, motorcycle and vehicle traffic through 5 p.m. Sunday, said Gen. Qassim Atta, an Iraqi military spokesman.
Sixteen rockets were fired on Wednesday and 12 on Tuesday. US Embassy workers in Iraq were told to remain in secure buildings and wear protective clothing as rockets continued to rain down on Baghdad's International Zone.
Also called the Green Zone, the International Zone is a heavily fortified central Baghdad district housing the US Embassy and Iraqi government offices.
A senior US official says the insurgents may have had recent training allowing them to conduct more precise targeting of the rockets, believed to be made in Iran.
Iraq's parliament called a special session for Friday to address the crisis caused by
three days of fighting between government troops and Shiite fighters. Meanwhile, Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for an end to attacks on his followers.
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