US uses lethal aircraft to try to break Sadr
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-20 11:18

The U.S. military pounded positions held by radical clerical Moqtada al-Sadr's lightly armed militiamen early Friday, unleashing one of its most terrifying aircraft in a bid to break their will to fight.

The unmistakable menacing buzz of the AC-130 gunship equipped with everything from rapid fire machineguns to deadlier howitzers was followed by thuds around a holy shrine and ancient cemetery where Sadr's men are holed up.

A supporter of radical Iraqi Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr walks inside Najaf's Imam Ali shrine August 19, 2004. Fierce fighting raged in Najaf on Thursday and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi issued a 'final call' for rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to disarm his fighters and quit the mosque he has made his stronghold. [Reuters]

Houses as far as five km (three miles) away shook as the fierce attacks sent up orange flashes.

Bradley fighting vehicles could be heard firing, while armored machines advanced toward militants who are full of zeal and hatred but short on weapons that can repel that kind of pressure.

As blasts rocked Najaf, the rallying cry of "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) was heard over loudspeakers from the direction of the shrine that is sacred to millions of Shi'ites around the world.

It was not immediately clear if U.S. forces were advancing toward Imam Ali shrine and its adjacent vast cemetery.

But the AC-130's rapid-fire light cannon, which sounds like a jack hammer, left little doubt that this could be Sadr's last chance to lay down his arms and disband his militia.

The U.S.-backed Iraqi government announced Thursday that Sadr was facing his final hours to meet its demands or face a major military offensive.

One of his senior commanders and aides issued a flat rejection, raising fears of a blitzkrieg in the streets of Najaf, a traditional Shi'te center of learning where snipers are now sharpening their skills as Sadr wages a war of attrition.

The pauses between air assaults keeps the militants guessing over the intentions of their enemy.

Sadr's fighters are armed with AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and pistols they have vowed to use in a fight to the death.

But so far they have not faced the overwhelming firepower of the AC-130 and have survived through urban guerrilla warfare that kept U.S. tanks on the edge of the old town of Najaf, a city of 500,000, until early Friday.

Armored vehicles advanced toward the war zone but it was not clear whether they had penetrated any further toward the shrine, a sprawling structure guarded by hundreds of militiamen that dart out of alleyways and fire RPGs at the Americans.

A six-mile smoke trail hung southwards over Najaf, evidence of what kind of force had been leveled at rebel positions around the cemetery.

Sadr may not be so worried about the AC-130s. He knows that any major damage to the shrine would infuriate millions of moderate Shi'ites and put the United States and its allies in the interim Iraqi government in a difficult position.

The Iraqi government said it had a plan to remove Sadr from the shrine but was intent on keeping the golden domed building preserved.

The AC-130s may be flying overhead and pounding Najaf for some time before the crisis is resolved, unless ground forces move in and storm the shrine.

The aircraft was first used during the Vietnam war to destroy concentrations of enemy troops.

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