Fierce clashes occur in Najaf

U.S. troops and insurgents clashed Tuesday in a sprawling cemetery in the holy city of Najaf, as American forces drove through the city's streets calling on militants to give up their arms.

U.S. tanks were seen heading to the area followed by sounds of explosions in fighting a day after Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has led an uprising against the U.S.-led occupation, warned that he would fight "until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."

On Tuesday, U.S. forces urged Najaf's residents to cooperate.

"We ask residents to cooperate with the Iraqi army and police," said a voice in Arabic through a loudspeaker Tuesday in Najaf. "There will be no truce or negotiations with terrorists."

Meanwhile, a militant group threatened to launch a campaign of attacks against government offices and warned public employees not to go into work. The group, calling itself the Divine Wrath Brigades, said its "military rebellion and the shelling" would start Tuesday against state buildings.

In its statement, the Divine Wrath Brigades claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks on government ministries, U.S. military bases, hotels housing foreign journalists and contractors and the Green Zone - home to the U.S. and British embassies as well as Iraqi government offices.

The uprising by al-Sadr's Mahdi Army began to affect Iraq's crucial oil industry, as pumping to the southern port of Basra - the country's main export outlet - was halted Monday because of militant threats to infrastructure, an official with the South Oil Company said.

About 1.8 million barrels per day, or 90 percent of Iraq's exports, move through Basra, and any shutdown in the flow of Iraq's main money earner would badly hamper reconstruction efforts. Iraq's other export line - from the north to Turkey - is already out of operation.

In southern Iraq, clashes intensified around Basra, where a British soldier was killed and several others wounded in fighting with militia near the cleric's office Monday, the British Ministry of Defense said. Three militants were killed and more than 10 others wounded, a senior Iraqi police official said.

On Tuesday, a roadside bomb went off as a U.S. military vehicle drove by in central Baghdad, slightly injuring two soldiers, said Sgt. James Kerphat from the 1st Cavalry Division.

U.S. President George W. Bush said Monday that coalition forces were "making pretty good progress about stabilizing Najaf."

U.S. military officials estimated that 360 insurgents were killed from Thursday, when fighting began, and Sunday night, a figure the militants dispute. Five U.S. troops have been killed in the fighting. About 20 police also have been killed, Najaf police chief Brig. Ghalib al-Jazaari said.

Meanwhile, two Jordanian and two Lebanese hostages were freed from captivity in Iraq on Monday, according to relatives. All four were truck drivers. The Jordanians were held captive for two weeks; the Lebanese for a week. Enditem

Source: Xinhua/Agencies