Two Soldiers Wounded by Gunmen Near Najaf

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62511-2004May28.html

NAJAF, Iraq -- Gunmen opened fire on a U.S. Army vehicle Friday in Najaf's twin city, wounding two American soldiers and raising fears over the agreement struck the day before to end the bloody standoff around this Shiite holy city. Mortars fell on the main U.S. garrison but caused no injuries.



Armed members of Muqtada al-Sadr's militia -- some of them masked and brandishing rocket-propelled grenade launchers and Kalashnikov rifles -- roamed the streets of Kufa on Friday. Most of the shops were closed and the streets were largely deserted. Three people were killed and eight injured in armed clashes, hospital workers said.

Lovely thing, ceasfires.

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Five Iraqis were killed and 14 wounded in clashes between U.S. troops and Shi'ite militiamen in the holy city of Najaf and in nearby Kufa on Friday, hospital sources said.

An official at the hospital in Kufa said three people had died in gunfire and mortar shelling in the town, while eight were wounded. In Najaf, three miles southwest of Kufa, two were killed and six hurt, hospital staff said.

Two U.S. soldiers were also wounded in the clashes after their Humvee military vehicle came under fire from militia fighters in Kufa, a U.S. military spokeswoman said.

"Their Humvee was completely destroyed and they were evacuated for treatment," the spokeswoman said, adding that their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

U.S. forces and militiamen loyal to rebel Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr struck a tentative truce on Thursday, but fighting broke out again early on Friday, the Muslim holy day.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040528/ts_nm/iraq_najaf_clashes_dc&cid=564&ncid=1480