US forces postpone attack on holy city

US TROOPS yesterday postponed a planned offensive to root out Shi'ite militiamen they have been battling for a week in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf.

The militant Mahdi Army's leader, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, urged his followers to battle on even if he is killed.

Fighting persisted in the vast cemetery near Najaf's holiest site, the Imam Ali Shrine, where US commanders say Mahdi Army militiamen have been holed up.

Gunbattles between militants and coalition forces in two other southern cities killed 18 people.

In Najaf, the US Marines said earlier in the day that they were training Iraqi security forces in preparation to launch a major assault to root out the fighters.

But later, a Marine commander said the offensive was postponed. No timeframe was given.

"Preparations to do the offensive are taking longer than initially anticipated," Major David Holahan said. "It doesn't matter now, they know we're coming."

It was not known whether commanders were planning a raid into the Imam Ali Shrine, an action that could enrage Iraq's Shi'ite majority and Shi'ites worldwide. Najaf's governor has given US troops permission to enter the shrine compound.

A raid by Iraqi security forces may be seen as less provocative. But many have criticized the Iraqi troops as being insufficiently trained or armed.

In the city, militiamen were once again firing on US troops from a building just 400 yards from the Imam Ali Shrine.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq's interim vice president, called on the US troops to withdraw from Najaf.

"Only Iraqi forces should stay in Najaf, these forces should be responsible for security and should save Najaf from this phenomenon of killing," he told Arab TV network Al-Jazeera.

Coalition forces said they were operating in the city at the request of the government. The top health official in Najaf, Falah al-Mahani, said the deteriorating security situation was causing "a real catastrophe" for the health services.

"Ambulances are prevented from reaching the injured people by the clashing parties. Our staff are not able to reach their hospitals. We are paralysed," he said.

Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday, al-Sadr said: "I hope that you keep fighting even if you see me detained or martyred... I thank the dear fighters all over Iraq for what they have done to set back injustice."

To control movement in Najaf, Iraqi police and national guards blocked roads that connect the city's northern and southern parts. The US military has estimated that hundreds of insurgents have been killed in Najaf since last Thursday, but the militants dispute that. Five US troops have been killed, along with about 20 Iraqi officers.

Meanwhile, farther north, US jet fighters bombed the turbulent city of Fallujah, killing four people and wounding four others.

Elsewhere, a roadside bomb exploded near a market north of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqis and wounding nine others.