More than 20 killed as Iraqis fight occupation troops

9.30am - By GHAITH ABDUL-AHAD

KUFA, Iraq - Supporters of a radical Shi'ite cleric clashed with foreign troops in Iraqi cities on Sunday, the worst fighting breaking out near Najaf which left 20 Iraqis, one American and one Salvadoran soldier dead.

In Baghdad, fighting between US soldiers and Shi'ites killed at least one Iraqi and wounded many. As night fell, violence raged in the poor Sadr City district as locals set two Humvees ablaze and hid behind walls waiting to fire rockets.

In Kufa, close to Najaf, fighting began after protesting militiamen marched on a Spanish-run military base to denounce the arrest of an aide to a radical Shi'ite cleric and the closure by US officials of a militant Baghdad newspaper.

Najaf's director general for health Dr Falah al-Numhna, said 20 Iraqis were killed and at least 200 wounded in the battle.

Spain's Defence Ministry said in Madrid one American soldier and one Salvadoran had been killed, correcting an earlier statement which said four Salvadorans had died. Nineteen other Salvadorans, fighting alongside the Spanish, were wounded.

The violence was likely to heighten tension in Spain, where 191 people were killed last month by bombs blamed on Islamists. The newly-elected Socialists have vowed to withdraw the 1300 Spanish troops from Iraq unless the United Nations takes charge.

Oppressed under former President Saddam Hussein, Iraq's Shi'ites have grown increasingly vocal in the year since US-led forces ousted Saddam and want their clear majority of the population to be reflected in a future Iraqi government.

A senior US military official said the Kufa incident began when Iraqi security forces came under fire. Apache helicopters and fighter planes were called in but did not fire, he said.

Black-clad members of the Mehdi Army, a banned militia loyal to radical anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, returned fire at the heavily defended garrison in fighting which went on for some three hours. A Reuters correspondent said most of the dead he saw were wearing the uniforms of the Mehdi Army.

Sadr, 30, called on supporters to stop protests, saying they were futile. He said he would stage a sit-in at a Kufa mosque and not give in until his demands were met.

"Terrorise your enemy, God will reward you well for what pleases him. It is not possible to remain silent in front of their abuse," his statement said.

Witnesses to the fighting in Kufa said militiamen, some of them teenagers, would dart out from an area of workshops and junkyards and fire at the base before running for cover again.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, a suicide car bomber wounded two US soldiers and five Iraqis at another pro-Sadr protest.

British officals said British troops had injured a number of people during related protests in the southern town of Amara. It was not clear whether anyone was killed.

There were also demonstrations in Basra and Nassiriya by Sadr's supporters, who have marched in the past week against the closure of al-Hawza newspaper, a mouthpiece for Sadr that US-led authorities accused of inciting anti-American violence.

They also protested against the detention of Sadr's aide Mustapha Yacoubi. A senior US official said he was seized by US-led forces on Saturday in connection with the killing of Shi'ite cleric Abdul Majid al-Khoei last year.

Khoei was hacked to death at a Najaf mosque by a mob which also killed one of his aides. Senior clerics at the time blamed the killings on a group linked to Sadr, who denied involvement.

"Sheikh Moqtada Sadr is our leader. He's going to lead Iraq. Today we fought the occupation troops and we will keep fighting them until we take over," said protester Mohammad Hanoun, 23.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq