US raid kills 30 Iraq 'militants'
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In a statement, the US military said US and Iraqi forces had carried out an overnight raid on a group of buildings in Sadr City where Shia militants were based.
US commanders said they believed the cell was smuggling weapons and explosive charges that have been used against US patrols from Iran, as well as sending militants to Iran for training.
One of the main targets of the raid was a man who acted as a liaison between Iraqi militants and the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the military said.
It said the troops came under sporadic gunfire as they approached the buildings, killed two armed men they believed to be lookouts, then detained 12 suspected members of the Special Groups Cell.
"During the course of the operation, the assault force and the overhead aerial support observed a vehicle and large group of armed men on foot attempting an assault on the ground forces," according to the statement.
It said air support was called and US aircraft killed an estimated 30 militants.
The military statement was issued after the Associated Press quoted Iraqi police as saying nine civilians, including two women, had been killed in the US operation in Sadr City.
A military spokesman said there had been women and children in the area during the raid, but denied any had died.
Later, men and young boys were seen weeping over coffins outside a nearby hospital and hundreds of residents marched through Sadr City in protest against the raids.