US soldiers set to move into Najaf

US troops are likely to enter parts of Najaf soon in a move to clamp down on the rebel militia of a radical Shiite cleric but they will stay away from sensitive holy sites in the centre of the city to avoid rousing the anger of Shiites, a US general said today.

Shiite leaders have warned of a possible explosion of anger among the country’s Shiite majority if US troops enter Najaf, and until now commanders have been saying troops would not go in.

With the new move, the military seeks to impose a degree of control in Najaf, while hoping that a foray, limited to the modern parts of the ancient holy city, would not enflame Shiites.

Brigadier General Mark Hertling has not said when troops would move in, or how many would be involved.

American officials were attempting a similar limited step in the war-torn city of Fallujah, the other main front of fighting in Iraq this month.

US troops will begin patrols alongside Iraq security forces in Fallujah, a top Iraqi negotiator, Hachim al-Hassani, said today – an apparent attempt to restore control over the insurgent stronghold without a full-scale Marine assault, which would spark new bloodshed.

But like a previous agreement aimed at reducing the violence in the city, the new step hinged greatly on the response of Sunni guerrillas, who have been called on to turn in their heavy weapons and not carry any weapons in public.

“We hope the US soldiers will not be attacked when they enter the city. If they are attacked, they will respond and this will lead to problems,” al-Hassani told The Associated Press.

He said Fallujah residents had promised no attacks would take place. But US officials have questioned whether Fallujah civic leaders, who have been negotiating with the Americans, have enough influence with the city’s guerrillas.

Violence across the country flared yesterday. Thirty-three Iraqis died in various attacks and four US soldiers, whose base was hit by two rockets north of Baghdad, were killed.

Today a rocket hit near a hospital in the northern city of Mosul, killing three people – including two women working at the hospital – doctors said. Elsewhere in the city, a mortar hit a residential area, killing one Iraqi.

In Baghdad, a roadside bomb hit a US military convoy in an eastern neighbourhood, setting a Humvee on fire. Witnesses reported US casualties, but there was no immediate confirmation from the military.

Meanwhile, US military officials in the Gulf were trying to determine the launching point of a suicide boat attack on two offshore oil terminals that are the sole outlet of Iraqi crude from the south. The attacks, using explosive-packed dhows, killed two US Navy sailors and forced the shutdown of the two terminals for several hours.

Asked if the attackers came from inside Iraq or neighbouring Iran or Kuwait, Navy Commander James Graybeal, of the US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said, “That’s what were trying to determine.”

Insurgents often attack oil pipelines in Iraq, repeatedly shutting down exports from northern oil fields to Turkey.

The new steps in Najaf and Fallujah came after US President George W Bush held a conference call yesterday with his top commander in the Middle East, General John Abizaid, over the situation in Iraq.

US commanders have been threatening to launch a full-scale offensive to take Fallujah and uproot insurgents unless guerrillas hand over their heavy weapons within days.

But a new assault would revive bloody fighting that killed hundreds of Iraqis this month, helping set off a surge of guerrilla attacks across the country that killed at least 109 US troops killed in Iraq since the beginning of April – the deadliest period ever in Iraq for the Americans.

Al-Hassani told The Associated Press that joint US-Iraqi patrols would begin in the city on Tuesday, when orders will be issued forbidding Fallujah residents from carrying weapons in the streets.

He said 75 families who fled Fallujah during the fighting will be allowed to return on Sunday. “If things go well, all families will be allowed to return,” he said. Nearly a third of the city’s 200,000 residents fled the city since the siege began on April 5.

An Army reservist missing in Iraq since a convoy attack on April 9 was confirmed dead. The remains of Sgt Elmer Krause, 40, were found on Friday, according to a statement today from the Department of Defence. It gave no other details. Another soldier and a US contract worker abducted in the same attack remain unaccounted for.

At least 718 service members have died in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.