Gun battles rage in Najaf as US prepares for massive attack
Heavy gun battles are taking place in the holy city of Najaf today, as US forces prepare to launch a final assault on militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
It was not immediately clear if the stepped-up fighting signalled the beginning of the major offensive against al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army, but the US military and Iraqi forces said it was preparing for a full-scale assault to crush the week-long uprising.
The military said yesterday it was taking extra time to prepare for an offensive, although it had not previously given a timeframe.
The planned offensive could inflame Iraq’s Shiite majority – including those who do not support the uprising – if it targets the revered Imam Ali shrine, where many of the insurgents have taken refuge.
Any assault on the shrine would probably include or be led by the Iraqi forces - many of whom have only minimal training – in an effort to lessen the anger. The US military said yesterday it was holding joint exercises with Iraqi national guardsmen in preparation for the planned assault.
“Iraqi and US forces are making final preparations as we get ready to finish this fight that the Muqtada militia started,” said Colonel Anthony Haslam, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
As clashes in Najaf raged for a seventh day yesterday, US troops acknowledged the militants’ tenacity.
“I think they got a reproduction facility down there. I think they’re cloning,” Captain Patrick McFall said. As he spoke, a mortar exploded nearby, sending up plumes of black smoke.
The military said it was taking extra time to prepare for a major offensive against militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, although it had not previously given a timeframe.
In response to the announcement, al-Sadr loyalists in the southern city of Basra threatened to blow up the oil pipelines and port infrastructure there if coalition forces launched a major attack in Najaf. A similar threat on Monday caused oil officials to briefly stop pumping from the southern oil wells.
The US military says hundreds of fighters have been killed in the Najaf battle, but the militants dispute the figure. Five US troops have been killed, along with about 20 Iraqi officers.
Meanwhile al-Sadr’s forces continued to fight coalition forces and Iraqi authorities in other Shiite communities across Iraq.
Overnight clashes between fighters and British forces in the southern city of Amarah killed 20 people and wounded 50, according to interior ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul Rahman. The British reported two minor casualties among their own troops.
In Kut, 100 miles south east of Baghdad, Iraqi police fought off attacks from al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army at the central police station and other government offices. The fighting killed four people and wounded 20.
A roadside bomb exploded near a market in Khan Bani Saad, north east of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqis and wounding nine, a hospital official said.
In Fallujah, US jet fighters bombed several houses, killing four people and wounding others. The US military had no immediate comment, but American forces have often bombed buildings in Fallujah suspected of housing Sunni militants.
