US and Iraqi forces killed some 300 gunmen from an apocalyptic Muslim cult in a day-long battle near the Shia holy city of Najaf, it has been reported.
An Iraqi army source said US forces took control of the operation yesterday and had continued bombing the area until well after dawn today.
The US military said two Americans were killed when a helicopter went down.
According to one Iraqi political source, hundreds of fighters, drawn from both Sunni and Shia communities, fought throughout Sunday and late into the night.
A reporter at the scene, 100 miles south of Baghdad, saw US tanks and heard explosions after dark, and an Iraqi officer said F-16 jets were bombing the area.
An Iraqi army source said some of the dead wore headbands declaring themselves a "Soldier of Heaven".