| Militiamen barraged U.S. forces with mortars in the holy city of Najaf on Monday in one of the more intense attacks on American troops, who have been holding back their full firepower to avoid inflaming the anger of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority. The shelling in Najaf began overnight, when some 20 mortars hit in and around the former Spanish base that U.S. troops moved into a week ago. There were no casualties. Heavy mortar fire resumed at midday Monday, and U.S. troops returned fire. Troops sealed off the area around the base, and several tanks were seen moving their cannons, though not firing. Sniper fire could also be heard. The U.S. military has deployed at the base and outside Najaf to crack down on radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But they have been hampered in responding to frequent al-Sadr fire on their position because the military is being extremely cautious, fearing that stepped up fighting would anger Shiites, whose holiest shrine is at the center of the city, about three miles from the U.S. base. |