US tanks backed by helicopter gunships pounded Shia militiamen in a cemetery in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf today, witnesses said, and hospital officials said four people were killed.
At least 29 people were wounded in the pre-dawn attack on fighters loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the casualty toll could be higher because it was difficult for ambulances to reach the cemetery, the hospital officials added.
The cemetery in Najaf is now the main hideout for Sadr's fighters in the city, home to some of the holiest shrines in Shia Islam.
US-led forces have also battled the militia in neighbouring Kufa and Kerbala, where fighting has died down in recent days.
The US-led authorities in Iraq want to arrest Sadr in connection with the murder of another Shi'ite cleric and are racing to end his rebellion before an unelected Iraqi government formally takes over sovereignty on June 30.
Elsewhere, a convoy of Russian workers was ambushed near a Baghdad power station, and two of the foreigners were killed, an Iraqi doctor said. Dr Adham Saadoun of the Yarmouk Hospital said the attack was near the Dora power station. The five wounded were taken to Yarmouk Hospital and some of them were in critical condition, Saadoun said.
Agencies