Plumes of black smoke rose above the embattled city of Najaf today after American warplanes bombed insurgent positions overnight and supporters of a radical cleric charged that shrapnel from a US attack had hit parts of the Imam Ali Shrine. The military denied the claim.

A top aide to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said today that kidnappers who abducted and threatened to kill a US journalist had promised to set him free.

Top aides to firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on kidnappers to immediately free a western journalist they had threatened to kill unless US forces withdrew from the holy city of Najaf.

Fierce fighting was reported around Najaf’s holy shrine today after a rebel cleric’s aide rejected a government ultimatum for Muqtada al-Sadr’s militia to disarm or risk a massive offensive.