Fighting between U.S. troops and militia continues in Najaf and Karbala

KARBALA, Iraq (AP) _ American troops fought militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday in Najaf and Karbala, though the confrontations in the two holy cities in Iraq's southern

Saturday, May 15th 2004, 10:46 am

By: News On 6

KARBALA, Iraq (AP) _ American troops fought militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday in Najaf and Karbala, though the confrontations in the two holy cities in Iraq's southern Shiite heartland were less intense than in previous days.

The U.S. military also announced the deaths of five soldiers, including three killed by rebel attacks.

U.S. troops are trying to disband the cleric's army and sideline its radical leadership before handing power to a new Iraqi government June 30. Al-Sadr is a fierce opponent of the U.S.-led occupation who launched an uprising last month and faces an arrest warrant in the death of a rival moderate cleric last year.

In Najaf, militiamen fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. tank stationed at the city's Police Directorate. The rocket missed its target, and the two sides exchanged gunfire. Elsewhere, a shell landed on a house, injuring a woman.

The normally bustling area around Karbala's Imam Hussein shrine, one of the holiest centers for Shiite Muslims, was silent except for intermittent blasts and the occasional rattle of machine gun fire.

After one blast, a huge column of black smoke wafted over the golden-domed shrine.

Coalition forces killed 14 fighters in the eastern Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, a stronghold of al-Sadr, over the previous 24 hours, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq. Troops also killed seven gunmen who attacked them in western Baghdad on Saturday morning, he said.

Guerrillas fired a mortar round at an Iraqi army recruiting center in the northern city of Mosul, killing four people and injuring 19, hospital officials said. The shell landed in a crowd of people waiting to sign up for the military. Insurgents have previously targeted police and army recruitment centers in an effort to undermine Iraqi involvement in the U.S.-led coalition.

Hussein Assem, a 25-year-old army volunteer, suffered shrapnel wounds in a hand and leg and was taken to a hospital.

``While I was at the entrance of the volunteer center, a mortar shell fell near me,'' he said. ``I fell down together with the others on the floor. I felt I was in coma and I woke up to find myself at the hospital.''

British troops killed up to 16 Iraqi insurgents after their patrol was ambushed between the southern cities of Amarah and Basra on Friday, and two British soldiers were wounded, the Ministry of Defense said in London. However, Iraqi witnesses said 21 militiamen were killed and that they were loyalists of al-Sadr.

The U.S. military said three soldiers died from wounds suffered in rebel attacks Friday, one died in a vehicle accident and one from ``natural causes.''

On Saturday, a rocket landed in the compound housing the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad, wounding one soldier and a civilian, both of whom later returned to duty, Kimmitt said.

The slain militiamen in Baghdad's Sadr City included a police lieutenant who had joined al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army, witnesses said.

U.S. jet fighters bombarded the outskirts of Sadr City overnight, forcing militiamen to flee their positions, the witnesses said. On Saturday, U.S. soldiers drove through the neighborhood with loudspeakers, urging people to hand in their weapons within a week in exchange for money.

In Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, al-Sadr militiamen moved to new positions to the south, leaving the shrine district almost vacant except for small groups of Iranian and south Asian pilgrims.

``I'm not scared,'' said Ahmed Ali, who sells Turkish lace from a shop in the shrine district. ``In Iraq, we are addicted to war.''

Some fighters from al-Sadr's militia wore flak vests looted from an Iraqi police station. Several shared rice and beans with townspeople.

``This is not good at all,'' said Hassan Sawadi, 40, a father of five who sells books from a stall. ``I have no intention of going anywhere. This is my home.''

The fighting in Karbala occurred in the Mukhaiyam area. U.S. jets flew over the city.

On Friday afternoon, al-Sadr followers stormed the building of Karbala's quick reaction police force and looted weapons, witnesses said. Four Iraqis were killed and 13 were injured, officials at al-Hussein hospital said.

In Najaf, gunmen from al-Sadr's militia controlled the city center. They had replaced a special force assigned to protect the Shrine of Imam Ali, one of Shia Islam's holiest sites. Bands of fighters stood at almost every street corner around the shrine.

Some militiamen patrolled the area in a police pickup truck, one of several commandeered during raids of Najaf police stations this week.

On Friday, apparent gunfire slightly damaged one of Shia Islam's holiest shrines in the city, prompting calls for revenge and even suicide attacks.

Twenty people signed up for an al-Sadr-backed suicide squad in the southern city of Basra on Saturday, though only 10 were accepted after undergoing checks by organizers.

As of Friday, May 14, 775 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq last year, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 565 died as a result of hostile action and 210 died of non-hostile causes.

It was unclear whether the latest deaths were included in the Department of Defense toll.

Also Saturday, fighting ebbed in the southern city of Nasiriyah, where gunmen believed loyal to al-Sadr attacked local coalition headquarters. Two Filipino guards suffered shrapnel wounds. Coalition troops regained control of the building before sunrise Saturday, officials said.

Assailants in Qurnah, near Basra, on Friday killed a tribal chief with strong ties to coalition forces. During Saturday's funeral ceremony for Youssef al-Saad, head of al-Saad tribe, mourners opened fire on the headquarters of a cleric deemed close to al-Sadr.