NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - A senior commander of Shi'ite militants holed up inside a Najaf shrine said the wall of the mosque was hit by U.S. fire on Sunday night.
Sheikh Ahmed al-Sheibani, who is also a top adviser to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, said it was hit during fighting.
It was not immediately possible to independently confirm the accusation. Serious damage to the shrine would enrage millions of Shi'ites around the world and give Sadr political ammunition in his rebellion against U.S. troops.
A U.S. AC-130 gunship hit suspected positions held by Sadr's fighters earlier on Sunday in an apparent bid to break their will.
Although U.S. troops outpower Sadr's men with tanks and aerial support, any raid on the shrine could backfire and fuel anti-American sentiment, which is already running high in Iraq, where Shi'ites make up 60 percent of the population.
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