Marines seize heart of holy city
Warplanes and Apache helicopters pounded militia positions in a cemetery near the Imam Ali Mosque, igniting protests in at least two other cities.
Shooting also was reported near the rebel leader's home as huge plumes of smoke rose from the city.
The assault against the Mehdi Army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr could spark a firestorm for interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who needs to assert his authority and crush a rebellion threatening to undermine his six-week-old government.
Late in the afternoon, US warplanes bombed targets near al-Sadr's house in Najaf as US marines battled militiamen in the area, witnesses said. Black smoke billowed as combatants exchanged heavy fire. Sadr's whereabouts were unknown.
Tightening their grip on the city, marines blocked entry to the Imam Ali Mosque, one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites where many militia have holed up.
In the south-eastern city of Kut, at least 72 people were killed in US air raids and fighting between Iraqi police and the Mehdi army yesterday, the Health Ministry said.
It said 25 people were killed in clashes in Baghdad and 21 in other cities in the past 24 hours. There were no immediate casualty figures from the Najaf offensive.
Protests broke out in Baghdad and the southern city of Basra after the start of the offensive, aimed at crushing the heart of a radical Shi'ite Muslim rebellion that has hit seven cities.
Wary of igniting anger among Iraq's majority Shi'ite community, the US military said the assault would exclude the Imam Ali Mosque. A spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry told CNN Iraqi forces alone would disarm militia holed up inside.
However, the Mehdi Army raised the prospect of a bloody battle, vowing no surrender and saying al-Sadr was leading the defence at the shrine and vast cemetery, one of the Middle East's largest.
"The morale of the fighters is very high," said Ahmed al-Shibani, a senior al-Sadr spokesman in Najaf.
"Major operations to destroy the militia have begun," said US Marine Maj. David Holahan, executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment. He said thousands of US troops were taking part.
Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie went to Najaf to deal with the situation, his office said. It was unclear what his mission entailed or whether he would be negotiating with al-Sadr.
"Today's operations are designed to restrict freedom of movement of Sadr forces in (nearby) Kufa and Najaf and to further isolate them in these mosques which they use as a base of operations," said US Brig. Gen. Erv Lessel.
Some 2,000 US servicemen and 1,800 Iraq security men are deployed around Najaf, a city of 600,000 about 160km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.
The US military said Iraqi forces were actively involved in the offensive, although witnesses said American troops were doing most of the fighting.
As news of the offensive filtered in, thousands of Shi'ites took to the streets in Basra and Baghdad."Long live Sadr, America and Allawi are infidels," thousands of protesters in Basra chanted.
A Reuters photographer said he had seen dozens of dead militiamen in civilian houses in Najaf. He said the bodies had been taken from the battle zone and covered in ice to preserve them before burial. It was unclear when they had been killed
Jawdat Kadhem al-Qureishi, a member of Najaf's city council resigned in protest at the offensive.
Earlier, Najaf governor Adnan al-Zurufi, who has been a staunch supporter of US forces here, claimed al-Qureishi resigned because kidnappers had snatched his father and demanded he step down in return for his release. Al-Qureishi did not comment on al-Zurufi's report.
Elsewhere, two US marines were killed when a CH-53 helicopter crashed landed in the volatile Anbar province west of Baghdad, the military said Thursday.
Meanwhile, a British soldier was killed and another seriously injured when a roadside bomb exploded, a British official in Iraq said.
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