U.S., Cleric’s Forces Clash for Hours in Iraqi South

A five-hour gun battle erupted Friday in palm groves along the Euphrates River between U.S. troops and militiamen loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr, the first major combat engagement between the two sides since U.S. forces converged on the area to capture or kill Sadr.

Two U.S. soldiers were wounded in the engagement. A third was shot in the head in an earlier fight nearby and was not expected to survive. About 20 members of Sadr’s Al Mahdi army were believed killed in the battle along a two-mile stretch of palm trees on the opposite side of the river from Kufa, U.S. authorities said.

The intense battle outside this southern Iraqi city raised new questions about whether a peaceful resolution can be negotiated in the standoff between Sadr, a vociferous critic of the U.S.-led occupation, and American authorities, who accuse the cleric of inciting violence and plotting the murder of a rival Shiite religious leader.

Sadr’s backers seized Kufa and the neighboring holy city of Najaf this month after a series of skirmishes in Baghdad with U.S. troops. Several Shiite leaders, along with a delegation of Iranians, have since sought to broker a resolution to the standoff, with limited success.

In recent days, several brief battles have broken out between U.S. troops and Sadr’s militia on the outskirts of Kufa and Najaf. During Friday’s battle, U.S. troops dropped more than 150 mortar rounds on Sadr’s forces after surrounding them.

Up to 40 Al Mahdi members took part in the fierce fight with about 130 U.S. troops, according to Capt. Chris Budihas of the 25th Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, the unit involved.

When Sadr’s forces began to weaken after several hours of bombardment, reinforcements arrived in boats and by crossing the bridge from the town of Kufa. Other Sadr militiamen began spraying machine-gun fire across the river at U.S. soldiers.

“He’s got a sizable force and now we can see that they are willing to fight,” Budihas said.

U.S. snipers killed at least three Sadr followers as they attempted to cross the river, but American troops decided to pull back rather than risk having the fight spread into the city.

U.S. officials have promised to attempt to keep any fighting outside Kufa and Najaf -- which are next to each other -- because of the cities’ religious and historical significance.

This week, Shiite leaders expressed outrage when a U.S. military convoy raced through the main streets of Kufa after being ambushed in a traffic circle just outside the city limits. The high-speed gun battle, which moved past the revered Kufa mosque, resulted in the deaths of at least eight Iraqis.

While attempting to stay out of the towns, U.S. forces have stepped up attempts to capture Sadr followers on their outskirts.

As part of that effort, U.S. troops returned to the same traffic circle Friday, this time with tanks and armored vehicles. Sadr forces fired at least six rocket-propelled grenades, setting a tank on fire. It was during the fighting at the traffic circle that the U.S. soldier was shot in the head.

The two other wounded Americans were hit with shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG, during the larger battle about an hour later and a mile away, deep in the groves.

Intelligence reports suggested that Sadr’s forces were using the area as a base for operations and three U.S. platoons set out early Friday morning on a mission to sweep the area. They surrounded the groves and began encircling Sadr’s militiamen.

“None of us have ever really actually fired a shot before,” said Pvt. Jay Bradley, 20, of Alabama, as his unit set out on the patrol. “We’re itching to do that.”

After hearing the mortar fire and learning of the wounded soldier at the traffic circle, Bradley said, “Today has been exciting enough already. I just want everyone to come home. That’s more important than shooting.”

For most of the afternoon, the mortar fire echoed and sent gray plumes of smoke into an already hazy sky. Militia fighters fell silent for nearly an hour before striking back with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades.

“I saw them launch the RPG and then five of them just scattered in all different directions,” said Sgt. David Castillo, 24, one of the platoon members.

One soldier suffered shrapnel wounds to the face and hands; the other was hit in the leg.

Residents fled their homes to avoid being caught in the battle. Fourteen members of one family rushed out of their house, hands held above their hands and yelling for help.

Earlier Friday, three suspected Sadr militiamen were captured when they inadvertently drove up to a U.S. military checkpoint.

Upon seeing the roadblock, the men slammed on the brakes and attempted to turn around, but their Mercedes-Benz skidded into a sand bank.

Soldiers recovered a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher, several grenades and three AK-47s.

In the pocket of one suspect were receipts for weapons purchased in the name of the Al Mahdi army, a picture of Sadr and diagrams for building explosives.

One provided instructions for making napalm bombs with shampoo, soap and black oil.