US forces clash with militia at Sadr's home

A gun battle erupted last night in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf after US and Iraqi troops approached the house of militant Shia cleric Muqtada Sadr, witnesses said.

Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani, a spokesman for Sadr in Baghdad, said that US soldiers had surrounded Sadr's house and that fighting raged for hours before the troops withdrew. He said six members of Sadr's militia and four Iraqi bystanders were wounded but Sadr was not at the house during the fighting.

The US military said American Marines were fired on with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars while conducting "a peaceful security patrol". A military statement said: "Marines returned well-aimed fire, taking caution to avoid all non-combatants." It said marines estimated two Iraqi fighters were killed.

Sadr launched an uprising against US-led forces in April, and hundreds were killed in weeks of fighting before truces were agreed in Shia areas of Iraq. The US military says an Iraqi arrest warrant has been issued for Sadr in relation to the killing of a rival cleric in Najaf last year. But during truce negotiations earlier this year, Iraqi officials said Sadr would not face arrest.