BAGHDAD, May 6 (Reuters) - U.S. forces raided the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad on Sunday, killing one person and wounding eight after American aircraft launched a strike on four homes, Iraqi police said.

The operation in Sadr City, a bastion of the Mehdi Army militia of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, took place at around 3 a.m. (2300 GMT), police said.

The U.S. military had no immediate comment.

Witnesses said six people were wounded after U.S. aircraft, apparently Apache helicopter gunships, opened fire on six homes, reducing one to a pile of rubble. Several cars were also damaged, television images showed.

U.S. forces regularly carry out operations in Sadr City as part of a security crackdown in Baghdad in raids targeting Mehdi Army gunmen involved in kidnapping cells and sectarian killings.

AlertNet news is provided by