U.S. Forces Pound Iraqi Militia, Urge Surrender
Tue Aug 10, 2004 12:40 PM ET
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces pounded Shi'ite militia from the air and ground in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf on Tuesday, and used loudspeakers to urge the entrenched fighters to lay down their weapons.
U.S. helicopter gunships struck positions near the city's ancient Shi'ite Muslim cemetery, a haven for militiamen from firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army who have been battling American marines for six straight days.
Marines have thrown a tight cordon around the cemetery and the Imam Ali Shrine but have yet to make a full assault on fighters holed up in the sites, a move that would enrage Iraq's majority Shi'ite community and probably spark further violence.
Iraq's interim government is also struggling with a spate of kidnappings aimed at pressuring foreign forces and firms to leave Iraq.
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