Fighting rages as militia reject ultimatum

FIERCE fighting raged in the Iraqi city of Najaf yesterday where a radical Shi’ite cleric spurned a final order from the prime minister to disarm his militia or face an attack on his sanctuary in a holy shrine.

US aircraft and tanks pounded the area around Najaf’s Imam Ali Mosque where Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi militia have holed up. Thick smoke poured into the sky, dozens of explosions shook the old city and automatic rifle crackled through the air.

Fighting eased an hour later, indicating the interim government’s threatened offensive was not yet under way.