U.S. warplanes pounded areas near a shrine where radical Shi'ite militiamen were holed up early on Friday after their leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, defied a final demand from Iraq's interim prime minister to disarm. U.S. AC-130 gunships struck repeatedly at positions held by Sadr's Mehdi Army fighters, who have sheltered in and near the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, sacred to Shi'ites around the world.
Orange flashes and white sparks lit the night sky above the city. The explosions shook houses throughout Najaf, but it was not clear if they marked the start of a major offensive against Mehdi fighters threatened by the interim Iraqi government. A large cloud of smoke rose from the ancient Wadi al-Salam (Valley of Peace) cemetery, which is near the mosque complex and where Sadr's supporters have fought U.S. troops for two weeks. Armored vehicles appeared to head to the battle zone around the golden domed mosque and the burial ground, from where heavy machinegun fire echoed. Witnesses said there were several hundred militiamen holed up in the sprawling mosque complex. "This is the final call for them to disarm, vacate the holy shrine, engage in political work and consider the interests of the homeland," interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi told a Baghdad news conference on Thursday. A letter purportedly from Sadr urged militiamen to give up the shrine to Najaf's religious authority, but rejected demands to disband the Mehdi Army and join Iraq's political process. But the document, circulating in Najaf, carried a seal that was not consistent with marks of previous letters from Sadr and fighting raged on. |