U.S. troops clash with Shiite militia

NAJAF, Iraq -- U.S. forces in Najaf came under their most intense attack yet by Shiite militiamen in a clash Monday that may have killed up to 20 Iraqis. But the military still held back from going after the militia's leader, a radical cleric, to avoid angering Iraq's Shiite majority.

In Baghdad, insurgents opened fire on U.S. soldiers guarding a weapons cache, killing one soldier and wounding two, the military said. Elsewhere, a Marine was killed by enemy fire in Anbar province, the western Iraqi province where the turbulent cities of Ramadi and Fallujah are located.

The deaths brought the U.S. toll to 153 since April 1 -- including 15 in May.

U.S. troops battling insurgents in west Baghdad pounded rebel positions with artillery fire Monday night, a series of eight or more heavy blasts that resounded through central Baghdad.

U.S. troops in Najaf, south of the capital, clashed for hours with Shiite militiamen who barraged the Americans' base with mortars overnight, then opened fire in the afternoon from several directions. Tank and machine-gun fire demolished a building that troops said was the source of shooting, raising a pillar of smoke. Apache attack helicopters circled but did not fire.

Fired mortars at U.S. base

Before dawn Monday, militiamen shelled the troops with about 20 mortars, hitting in and around the base where U.S. troops replaced Spanish forces a week ago. There were no casualties.

The U.S. military is deployed at the base and outside Najaf to crack down on radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia. But the troops have held back because the military fears angering Shiites Muslims, whose holiest site in Iraq -- the Imam Ali Shrine -- is about three miles from the U.S. base.

Lt. Col. Pat White said American troops would "maintain our defense posture" until someone "much, much higher than me makes a different decision."

He estimated 20 militiamen were killed in the battle and said there were few civilian casualties because troops were using precision fire. "I think every soldier here understands the sensitivities of the situation," he said.

At a Najaf hospital, one slain Iraqi policeman and 16 wounded civilians were brought in, including a woman, who hospital officials said were hit by American fire. Razzaq Hussein, 22, a construction worker, was wounded by shrapnel from a shell he said was fired by the Americans.

Al-Sadr's forces have stepped up attacks recently -- apparently either to pressure U.S. officials to negotiate or goad troops into retaliating. On Saturday, al-Sadr's al-Mahdi Army militia attacked a military supply convoy outside the southern city of Amarah, killing two American soldiers.

The U.S. military has vowed to capture or kill the cleric, whose militia launched an uprising across the south in early April. Al-Sadr, who is accused of involvement in the killing of a rival cleric, is in his office near the Imam Ali Shrine, making any move to capture him risky.

Al-Sadr has sought negotiations through tribal mediators in Najaf but seeks a resolution that would avoid his arrest. U.S. officials insist he be brought to justice.

Fallujah residents have been celebrating what many saw as a victory over U.S. forces as Marines pull back from their monthlong siege of the city and an Iraqi force -- made up of former Saddam-era soldiers -- moves in. U.S. officials have acknowledged they did not screen Iraqi commanders for their ties to Saddam before letting the brigade take over.