BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- - Police and members of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia fought in another southern Iraq town on Saturday, leaving nine people dead.

A gun battle erupted in Suwayra, in Wasit province nearly 40 miles south of Baghdad.

This comes after an eruption of violence this week in Amara between police and the militia, known as the Mehdi Army.

Police said eight militia members and a civilian were killed in Suwayra.

An argument between a policeman and a Mehdi Army fighter sparked the incident.

The militia member was stopped by the policeman from driving along a road.

A quarrel ensued and then clashes started after the militia member called fighters.

A curfew was imposed in parts of the town and the situation is relatively calm.

Meanwhile, Amara is relatively calm now after troops stepped in and the government and al-Sadr appealed for calm.

Sources said the clashes in Amara were sparked when the chief of police intelligence in Maysan province, Ali Qasim al-Tamimi, was killed in a bombing.

Police in Amara said the al-Tamimi family accused the Mehdi militia of carrying out the killing, and in a retaliatory move, al-Tamimi family members kidnapped the militia commander's brother.