Sporadic gunfire echoed through Najaf today after a night of heavy US bombing that saw radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr order his fighters to hand control of a revered Najaf shrine to top Shiite religious authorities.

IRAQI leaders launched hurried negotiations yesterday aimed at averting a US assault on the city of Najaf, the location of the holiest Shiite site, the Imam Ali Shrine.