BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops held off intervening when Shiite gunmen loyal to a radical cleric ranksacked an Iraqi police station in the holy city of Najaf, saying the fighting was too close to Shiite shrines and the situation was unclear. Coalition forces came under fire in another Shiite city south of Baghdad. advertisement
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The attack -- and the American caution -- came as Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, who took command of the new Multinational Corps Iraq headquarters last month, said the military was changing its focus from fighting guerrillas to training Iraqi troops and protecting the fragile interim government.But American soldiers clashed Thursday with other militants loyal to the cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, in Baghdad's Sadr City. At least one militant was shot and killed by a U.S. tank as he prepared to fire a rocket-propelled grenade at the Americans. American soldier dies
The U.S. command announced Friday that an American soldier died of wounds suffered in an ambush in eastern Baghdad. Four other soldiers were wounded in the Wednesday night attack. More than 820 U.S. service members have died since the Iraq conflict began March 2003. Elsewhere, assailants fired rocket-propelled grenades Thursday night at coalition troops near the Shiite city of Hillah about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Polish officials said there were no casualties and the attackers fled when troops returned fire.
The trouble at the Najaf police station started Wednesday night when police tried to arrest suspected thieves at the bus station near police headquarters, witnesses said. Masked attackers, including some of al-Sadr's militia, responded with machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades near the headquarters building.  | FREE VIDEO |
| | • Militia attacks
June 10: A fragile calm in the Iraqi city of Najaf was shattered when Shiite militia attacked Iraqi officers and took over the police station. NBC’s Mike Taibbi reports.Today show |
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One gunman was killed when police returned fire, al-Khazali said. The dead man's relatives, said by authorities to be from al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army, attacked the headquarters again Thursday in revenge, he said.Fighting later moved to the second station, which was overrun after police ran out of ammunition. Hospital officials said six Iraqis were killed and 29 wounded, including eight children. Two of the dead were al-Mahdi fighters, al-Khazali said. After police fled the station, witnesses said hundreds of civilians swarmed around it, joining al-Mahdi Army fighters in stripping the compound of fans, furniture and other valuables. Outside, they looted tires, headlights and seats from police vehicles and set them on fire. American forces are trying to lower their profile in Iraq and hand over more responsibility. Too close to shrines
In Najaf, U.S. troops refused to intervene because the reason for the clashes was unclear and because the fighting was too close to Shiite shrines, said Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division. Dempsey told CNN that Iraqi police, who deserted when al-Sadr's rebellion began in April, fought well Thursday despite losing control of a station. Dempsey said it was too early to tell whether the truce, mediated last week by Shiite clerics and politicians to end nearly eight weeks of fighting, had collapsed. But the U.S.-appointed governor of Najaf province, Adnan al-Zurufi, warned that if the violence continued "there won't be a truce." He gave the militia 24 hours to clear off the streets. Al-Sadr's spokesman, Qais Al-Khazali, warned the governor against "following the Americans" or sending forces near the holy shrines "because this could lead to fighting." Al-Mahdi Army fighters remained in their positions around the city's main mosque Friday, inspecting cars and checking identification papers. But there was no sign of weapons. One senior U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said coalition forces would not leave the streets immediately after June 30, but would phase down their presence as Iraqi security troops gradually take control. Foreign fighters blamed
Iraq's new prime minister, Iyad Allawi, blamed foreign fighters for recent attacks on Iraqi infrastructure, including an oil pipeline blast that cut nationwide electricity output by 10 percent. The extent of foreign involvement in attacks has been disputed in the past, and Allawi offered no evidence to back up his claim. Allawi has made restoration of security his top priority. His administration must use the next seven months to restore security to a level where national elections can be held by Jan. 31. In Sadr City, the crackle of gunfire rattled through the streets as knots of young, black-clad militiamen fired machine guns, small arms and rocket-propelled grenades at American positions, while U.S. Army Apache helicopters roamed the skies seeking targets. A flock of terrified sheep scampered down one street past Shiite gunmen. A roadside bomb exploded Thursday evening near a convoy of sport utility vehicles favored by Westerners in Iraq. There was no official conformation of casualties, but pools of blood could be seen around a wrecked vehicle. Allawi appealed to the public to be vigilant against attacks on oil pipelines and electricity grids. He charged that foreign fighters have targeted the country's infrastructure to undermine public confidence. Allawi said saboteurs had set off 130 attacks on Iraqi oil pipelines in the last seven months and that more than $200 million has been "stolen out of the pockets," of Iraqis. "These saboteurs are not freedom fighters. They are terrorists and foreign fighters opposed to our very survival as a free state," he said. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |  | Rumsfeld may expand abuse probe |
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