Wanted cleric delivers sermon

Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr condemned the United States in a sermon at Friday prayers in Kufa as his fighters fought American forces in Najaf, another holy city that lies six miles to the southwest.

American tanks had blocked off the roads between the two cities, and it was unclear when and how al-Sadr traveled from his office in Najaf to Kufa.

Al-Sadr described US President George Bush and Tony Blair as “the heads of tyranny”.

Al-Sadr said the two leaders had paid attention to what he described as the “fabricated” case of Nicholas Berg, an American civilian who was beheaded by militants, and had ignored the suffering of Iraqis in prisons controlled by coalition troops.

The cleric, wanted for murder by the coalition, also condemned Iraqis who cooperate with the Americans and “are willing to execute the occupiers’ orders”.