4 dead as Shiite rivals clash in Iraq's Basra

Four militants were killed overnight after an ambush in the southern Iraqi city of Basra sparked clashes between rival Shiite factions, a security source said , days after deadly clashes in the capital.

Two members of Saraya al-Salam -- an armed faction linked to powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr -- were killed when their vehicle came under fire from the Asaib Ahl al-Haq force, which lost two fighters in the ensuing gun battle, the source said.

Security forces deployed to quell the fighting, and Basra's governor Assad al-Eidani said  that the situation in the city was now "safe and under control".

The exchange of fire triggered panic only days after clashes between Sadr supporters and rival Iran-backed factions turned Baghdad's highly secure Green Zone into a battlefield.

Thirty Sadr supporters were killed in nearly 24 hours of clashes that erupted on Monday after they stormed the government headquarters in the Green Zone, which houses state institutions and foreign embassies.

The attack in Basra drew strong condemnation from Sadr representative Mohammed Saleh al-Iraqi, who lashed out at Qais al-Khazali, head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq force.

The force is part of a pro-Iran ex-paramilitary network now integrated into the country's security forces.

Since elections in October last year, Iraqi politics has been paralysed due to disagreement between Shiite factions over forming a coalition, leaving the country without a new government, prime minister or president.