Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has angrily charged American forces with undermining national reconciliation after a US-led raid in the eastern Baghdad stronghold of the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr reportedly caused the death of three people, including a woman and a child.

"Reconciliation cannot go hand in hand with operations that violate the rights of citizens this way," Mr Maliki said.

"This operation used weapons that are unreasonable to detain someone, like using planes," Mr Maliki said. He apologised for the operation and vowed: "This won't happen again." He also sent an envoy to Sadr City to offer cash payments to families of the dead and wounded.

At the end of June, Mr Maliki unveiled a blueprint for national reconciliation. But neither that, nor a succession of security offensives, have halted the bloodshed in the capital. Four roadside bombs in Baghdad yesterday killed at least 19 people. The deadliest blast killed at least 10 and wounded 69 others in a central Baghdad market. Other bombs targeted police and a busy bus station. Two Iraqi journalists were reportedly killed in separate incidents in Baghdad.

The impoverished Sadr City district provides many of the footsoldiers for Mr Sadr's Mahdi army militia, which is widely suspected of conducting sectarian attacks against Sunnis.

Mr Maliki has vowed to restore security to the capital and rein in the militias but his task is complicated by the knowledge that some groups are linked to some of his main political allies. For example, since the Mahdi army staged two failed uprisings against coalition troops in 2004, supporters of the anti-western cleric have entered politics, forming a powerful bloc within Mr Maliki's ruling Shia alliance.

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