Fierce Fighting in Amara
Marines Prepare for final Push in Najaf
Fresh explosions and machine gun fire rocked Najaf early Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, fighting in 5 Iraqi cities (excluding Najaf) left 35 dead and 219 wounded.
Amara
British military forces attacked Mahdi Army positions in Amarah, killing 20 persons and wounding 78.
Fighting raged, as well, in Baghdad, Kut, Diwaniyah, and Basra.
Mahmudiyah
Sunni radical Islamists in Mahmudiyah assassinated a local leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Ali Mahmoud al-Saadi.
Baghdad
Guerrillas detonated a bomb in a village market north of Baghdad, Khan Badi Saad. They killed 6 and wounded 11.
Najaf
The US bombed the cemetery at Najaf again on Wednesday. The Marines used megaphones to request that the civilian population of Najaf leave.
‘ Howver, Sadr urged his militia on Wednesday to keep fighting US forces in Iraq even if he is killed. Heavy artillery fire and explosions were heard near the inner sanctum of Najaf, not far from the revered Imam Ali shrine. ‘