May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Clashes between U.S. soldiers and Iraqis have left 41 Iraqi militiamen dead in the last twenty-four hours, Cable News Network reported, citing coalition officials.

Twenty-one Iraqi insurgents were killed in the Baghdad area, 16 near Amarah and four in Karbala, where U.S. forces have been battling Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's militia for the last four days, CNN said.

A mortar or rocket-propelled grenade hit a line of Iraqi civilians outside an army recruitment center in the northern city of Mosul, killing four and wounding 15, CNN said.

Five U.S. soldiers died in the last day, with three killed in separate strikes, CNN said. One soldier died of natural causes and another in a vehicle accident, CNN said.

(CNN 5-15)

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Itzenson in the New York newsroom at 4141 or at jitzenson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 15, 2004 14:35 EDT