Cleric vows to drive out ‘discredited’ US forces

IRAQI Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr yesterday defied American troops closing in on his militia army, vowing in a sermon to drive out an army he said was discredited by prisoner abuse.

Meanwhile, the Red Cross, in a rare break with practice, disclosed it warned Washington months ago that US troops had beaten and even killed Iraqis in Baghdad’s Abu Ghraib prison and that these were not exceptional cases.

Sporadic fighting in the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala left around 20 people dead after US troops made their boldest move yet against the month-old insurgency by the cleric's Mehdi Army. However, there was no sign of them rushing to make good on a pledge to capture or kill its leader. Instead, the Americans kept a low profile to allow Sadr to preach at his usual mosque.