Iraq makes 'final call' to defiant Sadr on Najaf

A radical Shi'ite cleric defied a final order from Iraq's interim prime minister yesterday to disarm his militia or face attack, as US military planes pounded areas near the shrine where he was holed up.

Suspected US AC-130 gunships struck repeatedly against positions held by militiamen loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr, who was sheltered in the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, defying the Baghdad government's demand to give up or face a major offensive.

Multiple orange flashes lit the night sky over the city as the airstrikes continued for about an hour, but it was not immediately clear if the explosions marked the start of the threatened assault.

A large cloud of smoke rose from the ancient cemetery where Sadr's Mehdi militiamen have fought US troops for two weeks. Armoured vehicles appeared to head to the battle zone around the shrine and the cemetery, where heavy machinegun fire was heard.

US aircraft and tanks earlier struck repeatedly, shaking Najaf with dozens of explosions.

"This is the final call for them to disarm, vacate the holy shrine, engage in political work and consider the interests of the homeland," interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi told a Baghdad news conference.

Away from the shrine area, three mortar bombs hit a Najaf police station, killing seven police and wounding 21 others, officers said. Police said Mehdi militiamen fired the salvo.

Sadr loyalists had threatened to attack oil infrastructure in southern Iraq if US-led forces continued assaults in Najaf.

In Baghdad, a mortar bomb hit the roof of the US embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone, slightly wounding two American employees, an embassy spokesman said.

Sadr reverted to his trademark defiance after two days in which he had appeared to be willing to disarm his militia and end his two-week-old stand in Iraq's holiest Shi'ite shrine.

Asked about government demands, Sheikh Ahmed al-Sheibani, a senior Sadr aide and Mehdi Army commander, told reporters earlier in Najaf: "It is very clear that we reject them."

The rebellion has badly dented Mr Allawi's authority, killed hundreds and rattled world oil markets. Oil prices hit a new record of $48.75 for a barrel of US light crude.

Mr Allawi said while he welcomed the sometimes conciliatory comments by Sadr and his aides, he wanted something concrete in writing. He refused to be drawn on whether Sadr had been given a deadline, although his senior officials said it was hours.

"We are hoping that Moqtada al-Sadr is going to comply with the demands, otherwise I can assure you there will be military action against him," Iraqi Minister of State Kassim Daoud told the same news conference.

Any storming of the mosque could provoke outrage among Iraq's majority Shi'ite community, especially if any of the 2,000 US marines encircling Najaf are involved. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Sadr had to meet Baghdad's demands.

"The Iraqi government has made it very clear that he cannot have a separate law for himself," McClellan said in Washington. In Baghdad, US troops overran the cleric's stronghold in the Shi'ite slum of Sadr City with tanks and armored vehicles, meeting little resistance, witnesses said.

They later withdrew to the outskirts of the area, home to about two million people and where fierce fighting has broken out in the past two weeks.

US forces said they had killed 50 militiamen on Wednesday in their push into Sadr City.

Sadr said on Wednesday his militia forces would disarm and leave the Najaf mosque if a truce was agreed with US marines, who have pounded his militia for two weeks in the southern city with warplanes, helicopter gunships and tanks.

The scion of a respected Shi'ite clerical dynasty made the apparent concession after the government threatened to teach the Mehdi militia "a lesson they will never forget."

His subsequent posturing aroused scepticism among US officials that he would back down.

Most Najaf residents too were sceptical fighting would end.

"What peace? I don't believe it. Look at this hell," said Talib Moussa, a 35-year-old labourer.

Sadr has more than once vowed to fight to the death in Najaf and has proved a wily strategist in past confrontations.

Despite the plump, bearded cleric's youth - he is about 30 - the latest rebellion has transformed him into the most recognizable face of resistance to the US presence in Iraq.

One US marine was killed in action in Najaf Wednesday, the US military said. More than 700 US troops have been killed in action since the start of last year's US-led invasion.