In besieged US base in Iraq, even phone calls risky

NAJAF, Iraq, April 17 (Reuters) - Hunkering down in a military base in Najaf as hostile Shi'ite militiamen control the streets outside, the head of the U.S.-led administration in the Iraqi shrine city says even making a phone call is dangerous.

"If you watch the movies you would think that life as a diplomat is all cocktail parties and receptions," Phil Kosnett said on Saturday in the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) headquarters inside a base defended by Salvadoran soldiers that has come under frequent mortar and sniper attack.

"That is not what it is about," he said. "I have people who are civilian information technology or administrative contractors who have been out lugging machine gun ammunition at forward fighting positions. My people have exposed themselves to sniper fire so that they could make a satellite phone call."

The base has been virtually under siege ever since militiamen loyal to rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr launched an uprising earlier this month. One Salvadoran soldier based in the city has been killed and several wounded.

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