With American forces pressing ever closer to the holy sites of Najaf, militia of the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr are changing their military tactics, moving from defense to offense.

Over the past few days, Mahdi Army fighters have taken their fight deep into Baghdad, firing mortars and rockets at Iraqi government offices, coalition military positions, and even at living quarters where independent civilian contractors and journalists live.

In Basra on Monday, Mr. Sadr's men attacked a main pipeline, stopping the flow of oil. Repairs are under way, but the disruption is significant: About 90 percent of Iraq's exported oil moves through the southern port city.

By moving from guerrilla street warfare on their own turf to offensive attacks against the government, the Shiite militia may be signaling that it has abandoned hope of peaceful negotiation.

Speaking Monday from the Shrine of Ali in Najaf, Sadr said he would fight "until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."

Mahdi Army fighters say they see no other way out of this conflict. "We want peace, honestly. But if we have to fight, we want to have a final battle," says a local commander named Jassim, sitting with his year-old daughter in Sadr City.

US tanks pushed into Najaf Tuesday as helicopter gunships fired on Shiite militiamen hiding there. American patrols warned militants to leave or face death.

Referring to the week-long battle for Najaf, a fighter who calls himself Abu Rami says: "If they capture [our leader] Moqtada al-Sadr, or if they got inside the shrine of Ali, unbelievable things will happen."

Adopting terrorist tactics - such as shelling residential areas or bombing populated areas - is a sign of how serious the fight has become for the Mahdi Army.

In the past three days, it has rocked Baghdad with mortar and rocket attacks on Iraqi ministries and residential areas. But using terrorist tactics is not necessarily an indication that Sadr is abandoning mainstream politics for good. Indeed, he may see this as a perfect entrée.

"He seems to be trying to negotiate or bully his way into the political process," says Toby Dodge, a Middle East expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

The struggle is being fought on two battlefields: one military and one political.

On the military side, Mahdi Army fighters are taking the conflict to a new level with the threat of attacks on civil and governmental areas as well as oil sites to ensure that Mahdi Army officials are included in any future Iraqi government.

On the political side, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has extended an olive branch to Sadr. He's welcomed him to run for office next year, and says that fighters in Najaf are misusing Sadr's name for "criminal" purposes.

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