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US kills tens of Iraqis on Najaf's doorstep<br>
by <br>
Tuesday 27 April 2004 7:52 AM GMT <br><br>
<b>US occupation forces have killed tens of Iraqis in overnight clashes
near the city of Najaf.<br><br>
</b></font><font size=2>Backed up with helicopter gunships, a spokesman
in Baghdad claimed occupation forces had killed 43 Shia militiamen by
Tuesday morning.<br><br>
But hospital sources said of the 28 people seriously wounded in the
clashes, only six of them appeared to be militiamen. <br>
<br>
Residents said US war planes fired at a Mahdi Army militia post 10km
northeast of Najaf, after fighting between occupation forces and
militiamen broke out in the area. <br>
<br>
Aljazeera's correspondent in Najaf, Uday al-Katib said he heard loud
explosions when US troops advanced near the Bu Hidrawi around the road to
Kufa.<br><br>
<b>Scant supplies<br><br>
</b>Reporting from al-Furat al-Awsat hospital, al-Katib added a few of
the casualties could be treated due to a severe shortage of medical staff
and supplies. <br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#FF0000">One medic said
</font><font size=2 color="#FF0000">US occupation troops had taken over
al-Sadr hospital and were refusing to hand over much needed
supplies.<br><br>
</font><font size=2>US occupation forces have been set since Monday to
enter parts of Najaf to kill or capture Iraq's most outspoken
anti-occupation Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr.<br><br>
Confrontations have already erupted between the US military and members
of al-Sadr's Mahdi army on the outskirts of Kufa.<br><br>
<b>Red line<br><br>
</b>Shia leaders have warned there will be an explosion of anger among
the 15 to 16 million Iraqi Shia if US soldiers enter Najaf.<br><br>
But Brigadier General Mark Hertling, the deputy commander of the 1st
Armoured Division, told journalists on Monday: "We're going to drive
this guy [al-Sadr] into the dirt. <br><br>
"Either he tells his militia to put down their arms, form a
political party and fight with ideas not guns, or he's going to find a
lot of them killed."<br><br>
Grand Ayat Allah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shia religious
leader, has said if US troops enter Najaf or Karbala, they will cross
"a red line" - implying general Shia resistance.<br><br>
</font><font size=3><b>Aljazeera + Agencies<br>
By <br><br>
</b>You can find this article at:<br>
<a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B8CBE446-8F52-4423-8581-BB79A33EC53C.htm" eudora="autourl">http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B8CBE446-8F52-4423-8581-BB79A33EC53C.htm</a>
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