Uneasy truce evaporates in Najaf

The Mahdi Army seized more than a dozen Najaf police officers this week, at least partially in response to the arrest of Sheikh Mithal al-Hasnawi by US marines in the neighboring city of Karbala. But Sadr's men have denied claims they started the fighting.

In Basra Thursday, at least two member of Sadr's militia were killed in a clash with British troops, AP reported.

T o be sure, Sadr is far from the only security challenge in Iraq, with insurgent activity remaining intense throughout the country. Events in Najaf followed fighting in the northern city of Mosul Wednesday between Sunni militants and Iraqi police that left 22 dead - eight of them insurgents - and dozens injured. Also Thursday, a suicide bomber working in concert with masked gunmen killed nine people outside a police station in Mahawil, about 50 miles south of Baghdad.

As of late Thursday afternoon in Najaf, small units of Sadr's militia moved about the city. A Monitor reporter witnessed them setting up firing positions for mortars inside the city, which drew return fire from US tanks and helicopters. In fighting near the city's cemetery, small-arms fire downed a helicopter transporting a wounded marine, the US military said, adding that no one was killed in the incident. So far, at least nine people have died, most Mahdi Army members but also at least two civilians.

Mahdi Army members said a minaret at the Shrine of Ali was damaged by US fire in Thursday's fighting. If true, this could inflame a broader uprising similar to the violence in April when Mahdi Army members briefly seized control of at least six towns in the south.

Overall, anger appears to be rising in some parts of the city. At the Hakim Hospital, the head of security asked the Monitor reporter to leave, saying he couldn't guarantee his security.

There are also signs of moves against Sadr elsewhere. On Wednesday night, US and Iraqi forces encircled Sadr City, according to Mahdi Army members, and many of the group's top commanders went into hiding, fearing arrest.

Tension has been steadily rising since a confrontation between Sadr's men and marines Tuesday. Marines accidentally strayed into the neighborhood near Sadr's Najaf home, which had been treated as a no-go zone by the previous US unit in the area. The 11th MEU said it was an honest mistake and denied Mahdi Army claims that they were seeking to arrest Sadr.

"Many leaders in al-Sadr's movement have been arrested by the occupation forces,'' Sadr spokesman Sheikh Abdel al-Darraji said in an Al Jazeera interview Tuesday. "So we say that there is US provocation, and this will explode the situation if the US leaders and US Army do not put an end to such incidents, which could backfire on them."

While Sadr appears to completely control Sadr City, the slum that was renamed in honor of Sadr's father, his position seems much more tenuous in Najaf, where many residents and merchants resent fighting that has cut deeply into religious tourism. Najaf resident Moqdad al-Taraji, speaking after a Mahdi Army member drifts away, says: "Three-quarters of the people in this neighborhood are against them. I think the Iraqi Army is doing a good job."

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