BAGHDAD : At least three militiamen were killed overnight by American troops in Baghdad's Shiite bastion of Sadr City, the US military said on Tuesday, despite a truce agreed at the weekend.

US forces staged an air attack against two suspected militants who were planting a roadside bomb targeting security forces in the slum area on Monday evening and killed both, it said in a statement.

It said a third man was shot dead as he tried to set up an explosives device on the road on Monday night.

However, Iraqi medical and security sources said 11 people were killed in violence overnight in Sadr City. They said another 20 people were wounded, mainly in air strikes.

However, the US military denied their air attacks caused those casualties.

The sporadic skirmishes erupted despite a deal between the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the Iraqi government to reduce violence.

The deal went into effect from Sunday, but both sides said it will be Wednesday before they fully implement it on the ground.

- AFP /ls