More than 40 Die in Clashes Between Iraqi Troops and Militia.

The article reports that 40 people were killed when government troops clashed with a millennial religious militia group in southern Iraq. However, the troops protected millions of pilgrims on the first day of Ashura, the largest religious holiday for Iraq's Shiite majority. The day is stated to be frequently marred by violence. The Iraqi government and the Parliament faced new criticism over the killings from both, a leading Shiite party and from the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.