'Holy shrine damaged' in US warplane attack

Plumes of black smoke rose above the embattled city of Najaf today after American warplanes bombed insurgent positions overnight and supporters of a radical cleric charged that shrapnel from a US attack had hit parts of the Imam Ali Shrine. The military denied the claim.

US infantrymen engaged in fierce battles with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s militants as tanks moved closer to the revered Imam Ali Shrine.