US marines and warplanes spearheaded a massive two-pronged assault to crush a Shiite Muslim uprising in Najaf on Thursday, after 24 hours of nationwide fighting left 165 Iraqis dead and 600 wounded.
US jets screeched overhead as massive explosions, tank and machine-gun fire boomed through the holy city and smoke spewed into the air above its historic centre, home to the Imam Ali shrine, revered by Shiites all over the world.
By mid-morning, US troops and Iraqi security forces had sealed approaches to the mausoleum, as hundreds of petrified residents, urged on by loudspeakers from both the attacking forces and the city's mosques, fled through the dusty streets, an AFP correspondent said.
Armed militiamen fanned out into the deserted plaza outside the shrine, as the mosques urged the Mehdi Army to defy the onslaught and defend the city, while US tanks took up position on roads leading to the mausoleum.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi issued a statement assuring that the holy shrine would remain safe and said he had not approved the entry of multinational forces into the mausoleum. "His excellency is holding the armed elements inside the shrine responsible for any harm or damage that may occur," it said.
Shortly after the attack began, Najaf deputy governor Jawdat Kadam Najem al-Kuraishi resigned in protest against "all the US terrorist operations that they are doing against this holy city".
{{/usCountry}}Shortly after the attack began, Najaf deputy governor Jawdat Kadam Najem al-Kuraishi resigned in protest against "all the US terrorist operations that they are doing against this holy city".
{{/usCountry}}The government said 24 hours of fighting across Iraq, mostly in the Shiite south and Sadr's Baghdad stronghold and killed 165 people and wounded 594.