US pounds Fallujah as blasts rock Damascus

US AIRCRAFT and tanks pounded the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah last night as a series of blasts rocked the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The action followed an assault by US forces near the other Iraqi flashpoint city, Najaf.

In the holy city of Najaf, 64 fighters loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were killed hours after Washington issued an ultimatum to him to clear his militia and their arms from mosques. The fierce fighting between US Marines and insurgents in Fallujah erupted hours after a deadline passed for the rebels to lay down their weapons.

An American AC-130 gunship hammered targets in the city and blasts and gunfire went on steadily for more than half an hour in sustained fighting.

Meanwhile, in Damascus, Syrian security forces clashed with a "terrorist band", officials said last night.

Explosions and gunfire were heard in a neighbourhood where foreign diplomats live and work.

One attacker was reported killed and another captured.

Syrian television, in a brief statement, said the "terrorist band" opened fire indiscriminately. Security forces gave chase and were in control of the situation. It gave no other details.

Syria has not seen such violence in years.

Residents reported explosions and gunfire in the Mazza neighbourhood. Smoke was seen billowing from the area, which security forces sealed off.

A Saudi consulate, the British ambassador's home, offices of the Iranian state news agency, the Iranian Embassy and the Canadian Embassy are in Mazza, on the western edge of the city.

In London, a Foreign Office spokesman said an explosion and shooting was heard near the Iranian ambassador's residence and in the vicinity of the British ambassador's residence.

An Iranian Embassy spokesman in Damascus said the embassy was not involved in any attack.

Syrian political analyst Imad Shuaibi said he had learned that two men "attacked with hand grenades and gunfire near the Iranian and Canadian embassies".

"One was killed and the other was captured," Shuaibi said.

Al-Jazeera TV said car bombs were used in the attack and that heavy exchanges of gunfire were continuing late into the night.

More than 15 explosions were heard.