Full-scale battle to crush Iraqi insurgents

Explosions and gunfire echoed across the holy city of Najaf today as the US military and Iraqi forces launched a full-scale assault to crush a weeklong uprising by militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Thousands of US troops were taking part in the offensive, which began with the cordoning off of the revered Imam Ali shrine, its vast cemetery and Najaf’s Old City.