Al-Sadr refuses to pull militia out of Najaf

A FIREBRAND Shi'ite cleric yesterday defied demands from Iraq's interim government that his militia pull out of Najaf, after days of fierce clashes with US Marines who say they have killed 360 of his fighters.

Heavily armed Marines backed by aircraft tightened their noose around the holy city in heavy fighting yesterday, but a senior US military official denied coalition forces were hunting the young cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Sadr thundered defiance during a news conference at Najaf's holiest shrine, the Imam Ali mosque.