Four die in Baghdad blast as coalition clashes with al-Sadr militia

US AND British troops clashed yesterday with forces of radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr for a second day, and four Iraqis were killed in an explosion in a Baghdad market.

Three British soldiers were wounded in a Basra blast.

Al-Sadr's militia fired mortar shells before dawn yesterday at the governor's office and other British positions in Amarah, 180 miles south-east of Baghdad, a British official and residents said. No British casualties were reported in that attack, but British spokesman Maj Ian Clooney said "a number of possible mortar positions" were destroyed.

Maj Clooney denied statements by local residents that British helicopters were used to attack the insurgents.

Al-Sadr's militia launched attacks Saturday in Basra and Amarah in an apparent attempt to open up new fronts as US troops stepped up pressure on the cleric's stronghold around the Shi'ite holy cities of Najaf, Kufa and Karbala. Intensifying skirmishes in the region have killed dozens in the past week.

US authorities vowed to kill or capture al-Sadr after he was charged in the murder investigation of a rival cleric last year.

The US-led coalition would like to disband al-Sadr's militia, the al-Mahdi Army, before political power is transferred to a new Iraqi government on June 30.

Also yesterday, scattered clashes occurred between US and militia forces in the industrial area of Najaf, where al-Sadr sought refuge last month. Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the area. Iraqi police and US tanks blocked the main road from Najaf to nearby Kufa, residents said.

In Baghdad's Shi'ite enclave, Sadr City, the cleric's militia burned tyres in the streets to try to keep US troops from entering.

In Basra, 100 miles south of Amarah, three coalition soldiers were wounded when a large explosion occurred near a coalition convoy yesterday morning, Maj Clooney said.

The explosion in Baghdad occurred in a market when police tried to dismantle two bombs found in vendors' stalls. Four people were killed and 17 were wounded, according to the Health Ministry. US troops sealed off the area.

"Is this the freedom that they want? People cut into pieces," witness Fadhil Farid cried. "What did we do wrong?"