14 May -- U.S. troops are fighting with militiamen loyal to Shi'a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the Iraqi holy cities of Al-Najaf and Karbala.
Correspondents report that U.S. tanks moved into a cemetery inside Al-Najaf and fired at suspected positions of militia fighters near shrines, while insurgents returned fire.
Reuters quotes a hospital director in Karbala as saying at least four Iraqis were killed in overnight fighting there. U.S. helicopters scattered leaflets urging al-Sadr to end the insurgency by his Al-Mahdi Army and turn himself in to authorities, who accuse him of involvement in the murder of a fellow cleric.
Fighting also broke out on a road leading from Al-Najaf to the nearby city of Al-Kufah, where al-Sadr is expected to deliver a sermon at Friday prayers today.
In another development, the U.S. military said today that a U.S. Marine was killed during fighting in the Al-Anbar Province west of Baghdad, but gave no more details.
Reuters quotes a hospital director in Karbala as saying at least four Iraqis were killed in overnight fighting there. U.S. helicopters scattered leaflets urging al-Sadr to end the insurgency by his Al-Mahdi Army and turn himself in to authorities, who accuse him of involvement in the murder of a fellow cleric.
Fighting also broke out on a road leading from Al-Najaf to the nearby city of Al-Kufah, where al-Sadr is expected to deliver a sermon at Friday prayers today.
In another development, the U.S. military said today that a U.S. Marine was killed during fighting in the Al-Anbar Province west of Baghdad, but gave no more details.