In southern Iraq on Friday, the Mahdi Army seized control of part of the city of Amarah. The Shiite militia engaged in a gun battle with the city’s Shiite-controlled police force. As many as 25 people died. In Baquba, gunmen ambushed a bus full of police recruits, killing 15 and wounding 25. In the Shiite city of Mahmudiyah, Sunni insurgents fired mortar rounds at a crowded market on Saturday killing 32 people. The market was crowded with families buying food for the Islamic holiday of Eid which marks the end of Ramadan.