Holiest Shi'ite shrine seen damaged after battle

9.30am

NAJAF, Iraq - Aides to militant Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr blamed US tank fire Friday for three small holes that appeared in the vast gilded dome of Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrine, the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf.

Qais al-Khazali, Sadr's chief spokesman, showed the damage to journalists after six hours of heavy fighting in which US armor advanced for the first time onto sacred ground in its confrontation with Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.

The holes, high above the ground, were on the side of the dome facing Najaf's vast cemetery, where US tanks stormed in to attack guerrilla positions hidden among the tombs.

But it was not possible for Reuters correspondents at the scene to determine when or how the damage was caused.

The US commander in the region, Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey, repeated that his forces were trying to avoid damaging holy places. Such action would risk inflaming religious passions among the 60 per cent of Iraqis who follow the Shi'ite faith.

The damaged shrine is dedicated to Imam Ali, the 7th century Muslim leader whose descendants founded the Shi'ite branch of Islam. There was also fighting close to other important Shi'ite shrines in the holy city of Kerbala, 30 miles away.

About 250 Sadr fighters paraded before the Imam Ali mosque during a lull in Friday's battle chanting "Long live, Moqtada!."

Khazali renewed promises of retribution against the US forces that he said had crossed a "red line" onto sacred ground.

"There are no red lines left now that the Imam Ali shrine, our holy of holies, has been violated," he said.

Sadr's militia, who rose up against the US-led occupation across Shi'ite southern Iraq, have been under increasing pressure from the US military onslaught and from irritation among rival Shi'ite leaders anxious to end the fighting.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq