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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Troops launch assault on Najaf

Todd Pitman Associated Press

NAJAF, Iraq – Explosions and gunfire echoed across the holy city of Najaf on Thursday as the U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

“Major operations to destroy the militia have begun,” said U.S. Marine Maj. David Holahan, executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines Regiment.

The assault was expected to be led by Iraqi forces – many of whom have only minimal training – in an effort to lessen the anger from Iraq’s Shiite majority, should the offensive damage the shrine where many of the insurgents have taken refuge.

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. Al-Sadr, the firebrand cleric leading the insurgents, exhorted his followers Wednesday to fight on even if he is killed.

Any assault on the shrine likely would include or be led by the Iraqi forces in an effort to lessen the anger. The U.S. military said Wednesday it was holding joint exercises with Iraqi national guardsmen in preparation for the assault.

“Iraqi and U.S. forces are making final preparations as we get ready to finish this fight that the Muqtada militia started,” said Col. Anthony M. Haslam, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

On Wednesday, U.S. troops said they were impressed with militants’ tenacity.

“I think they got a reproduction facility down there. I think they’re cloning,” Capt. 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 al-Sadr, though it hadn’t 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 Monday caused oil officials to briefly stop pumping from the southern oil wells.

The U.S. military has estimated that hundreds of insurgents have been killed in the Najaf fighting, but the militants dispute the figure. Five U.S. troops have been killed, along with about 20 Iraqi officers.

Elsewhere, two U.S. Marines were killed when a CH-53 helicopter crashed landed in volatile Anbar province west of Baghdad, the military said today. Three other people were injured in the crash Wednesday night. The military said that no enemy fire was observed at the time.

Al-Sadr’s forces continued to fight coalition forces and Iraqi authorities in other Shiite communities across Iraq.

Overnight clashes between insurgents 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 southeast 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, said Dr. Falah al-Bermany.

A roadside bomb exploded near a market in Khan Bani Saad, northeast of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqis and wounding nine, a hospital official said.

In Fallujah, U.S. jet fighters bombed several houses, killing four people and wounding others, hospital officials said. The U.S. military had no immediate comment, but American forces have often bombed buildings in Fallujah suspected of housing Sunni militants.

Al-Sadr’s fighters have been battling coalition forces since Aug. 5 in a resurgence of a spring uprising that had been dormant for two months following a series of truces.

“I hope that you keep fighting even if you see me detained or martyred,” al-Sadr, who lives in Najaf, said in a statement Wednesday. “I thank the dear fighters all over Iraq for what they have done to set back injustice.”

Iraqi police manned checkpoints that cut Najaf in two as small clashes continued in the vast cemetery, where insurgents attacked Marine patrols with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. Insurgents also set up mortar positions near the shrine and put burning tires in the streets outside the holy compound, the U.S. military said.

A convoy of U.S. 1st Cavalry Humvees and Bradley fighting vehicles drove up to the edge of the cemetery early Wednesday and was caught in a fight almost immediately.

U.S. troops climbed onto single-story buildings and fired briefly at insurgent positions in buildings in the distance, with several Bradleys using 25 mm cannons.

On Tuesday, U.S. helicopter gunships pummeled a multistory building 400 yards from the Imam Ali shrine with rockets, missiles and 30 mm cannons.

By Wednesday, more militants had entered the scorched building to resume firing at troops.