Yahoo! News - Fighting in Holy City of Najaf Kills 64: "U.S. troops fought gunbattles with militiamen overnight near the southern holy Shiite city of Najaf, killing 64 gunmen and destroying an anti-aircraft system belonging to the insurgents, the U.S. military said Tuesday."
What would it be like if they weren't careful?
"It was one of the heaviest fights with the militia, as U.S. troops are trying to carefully hike up the pressure on the gunmen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. troops moved into a base in Najaf, but promised to stay away from the sensitive Shiite holy sites at the city's heart.
Meanwhile, as the United Nations prepared to discuss the formation of a caretaker government due to take power on June 30, U.S.-appointed Iraqi leaders complained that the administration will not have real sovereignty as promised by American administrators for months.
'I think the sovereignty will be weak and not complete,' said Mahmoud Othman, a member of the Governing Council."
- posted by geoff @ #