US seizes governor's office in Najaf (Agencies) Updated: 2004-05-07 11:24 U.S. soldiers seized the governor's office
Thursday in the holy city of Najaf, wresting control from Shiite militiamen
loyal to a radical cleric in battles that left an estimated 40 insurgents dead.
In Baghdad, a suicide car bomber killed five Iraqi civilians and an American
soldier at the edge of the heavily guarded Green Zone that houses the U.S.
headquarters. The blast wounded 25 people, including two U.S. soldiers.
 A US soldier mans a defensive position on the
northern side of Najaf, Iraq Thursday May 6, 2004. The soldiers were
blocking Shia insurgents from reaching the government office in the city
that was taken over in an operation by US forces.
[AP] |
Amid concerns that U.S. troops were about to move directly against
anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, his militiamen dug in in Najaf, taking
positions behind earthen mounds leading into the city center and firing a
barrage of mortar shells and small arms fire at the U.S. base here late
Thursday.
American soldiers responded with a heavy barrage of 120mm mortar fire. U.S.
jets streaked across the blackened night sky, and two large plumes of smoke
could be seen rising over the east bank of the Euphrates.
Also Thursday, an audio recording attributed to Osama bin Laden offered
rewards in gold for the killing of top U.S. and U.N. officials in Iraq or
of the citizens of any nation fighting there.
The 20-minute recording appeared on two Web sites known for militant Islamic
messages. The voice sounded like that of bin Laden and the words were laden with
Quranic verse, but the authenticity of the recording could not immediately be
verified.
Earlier in Najaf, gunmen took cover behind buildings as American helicopters
flew overhead. An increased number of fighters were seen in the city center as
the militia attempted to regroup after losing the governor's office.
"We will fight until the last drop of our blood," said Dhia Shami, as he
stood behind a dirt barricade.
"We expect the Americans to retreat," said fellow militiaman Malek Holeicha.
"We are fighting for our faith. They don't have any faith."
At the city's Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam, a
coffin wrapped in an Iraqi flag was brought in — apparently one of the dead from
the fighting.
"This is a martyr for Muqtada," mourners chanted.
The Najaf fighting came as chief U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer announced
the appointment of Adnan al-Zurufi as governor of Najaf province, a step that is
part of the campaign to regain control of the area from al-Sadr's militiamen.
His al-Mahdi Army seized government buildings and police stations throughout the
province on April 4.
The United States is planning to hand some sovereignty to a transitional
Iraqi government June 30 and is looking to end al-Sadr's uprising, which has
left parts of southern Iraqi outside of coalition control.
U.S. troops have been stepping up their assaults on al-Sadr's followers,
raiding offices and buildings where weapons are stored in several southern
cities in increasingly bloody skirmishes. Moderate Shiite leaders have called on
al-Sadr's militiamen to abandon Najaf, isolating the cleric and making it easier
for U.S. forces to act against him.
On Thursday, U.S. forces moved to outlying areas of Najaf, drawing militants
from the city center and enabling other troops to seize the two-story governor's
office without resistance.
An estimated 40 militiamen were killed in gunbattles outside the city, said
Capt. Roger Maynulet, a tank company commander with the Army's 2nd Armored
Cavalry Regiment.
After the soldiers took the building, heavy gunfire was heard near the
governor's office and smoke was seen rising. Gunmen fired from rooftops as
motorists fled through deserted streets, honking their horns.
One U.S. convoy of Humvees leaving the area was ambushed twice in 10 minutes
by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles from
rooftops. An AP reporter who witnessed the attacks saw five militants who appear
to have been killed in retaliatory fire.
Elsewhere, coalition troops exchanged gunfire with dozens of al-Sadr
militiamen in Karbala, 50 miles north of Najaf. Militiamen took ambush positions
behind cars and a discarded desk a few hundred yards from the city's main Shiite
shrines.
A witness told Associated Press Television News that troops fired on the
insurgents and ended up destroying four buses of Pakistani pilgrims, which were
seen burning. The witness said "three or four" Pakistanis had been killed.
"We're going to demolish them — and even Bush," shouted one masked man,
waving a Kalashnikov. "We're going to win, by God's will."
Militiamen also fired on Italian troops farther south near Nasiriyah,
wounding one, the Italian military said.
In the past two days U.S. soldiers estimate they have killed about 80
militiamen. One U.S. soldier was killed Wednesday.
"I think we are going to gain momentum from now on," said Lt. Michael Watson,
a platoon leader with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Najaf.
The Baghdad bomb exploded outside a 3-foot-high concrete blast wall that
protects a U.S. checkpoint.
The U.S. soldier slain by the bomb was the 21st U.S. serviceman killed in
Iraq in May. The suicide bomber also died.
An Internet statement signed by a group linked to al-Qaida claimed
responsibility.
The statement, on a Web site known for militant Islamic messages, was signed
by the military wing of the "Monotheism and Jihad Group," which is believed led
by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The Jordanian is wanted by the United States for
allegedly organizing militants to fight U.S. troops in Iraq on behalf of
al-Qaida. The statement's authenticity could not be confirmed.
Also Thursday, the U.S. military said two U.S. soldiers were killed and two
were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad just before midnight
Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a blindfolded man described as an Iraqi-American being held
hostage in Iraq was shown pleading for help on an Arab TV station.
The man, speaking English, gave his name as Aban Elias and said he was from
Denver.
"I am a civil engineer working here in Baghdad," he said, adding that he
worked for the Pentagon.
Elias, shown on Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV, appealed to Islamic associations
to work for his release.
With the tape came a statement from a previously unknown group calling itself
"The Islamic Rage Brigade." The group said Elias was kidnapped on May 3. It made
no demands.
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