Five Iraqis were killed and 14 wounded in clashes between US troops and Shia militiamen in the holy city of Najaf and in nearby Kufa yesterday, hospital sources said.
An official at the hospital in Kufa said three people had died in gunfire and mortar shelling in the town, while eight were wounded.
In Najaf, 5km southwest of Kufa, two were killed and six hurt, hospital staff said.
Two US soldiers were also wounded in the clashes after their Humvee military vehicle came under fire from militia fighters in Kufa, a military spokeswoman said.
"Their Humvee was completely destroyed and they were evacuated for treatment," she said, adding that their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
US forces and militiamen loyal to the rebel Shi cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, struck a tentative truce on Thursday, but fighting broke out again early yesterday, the Muslim holy day.
Mr Sadr, who has led an uprising against US forces throughout southern Iraq for the past two months, said he would disarm his militia and withdraw from Najaf as long as US forces also withdrew.
The agreement, struck via local clerics with no direct involvement of the US military, also involved US authorities holding off arresting Mr Sadr in connection with the murder of a rival Shia cleric in April last year.
Earlier yesterday thousands of worshippers and followers of Mr Sadr gathered inside and outside the mosque in Kufa where he normally preaches to show their support for the cleric. Scores of armed militiamen were interspersed among the crowds.
Fearing arrest, Mr Sadr did not make the journey to Kufa, and one of his deputies preached instead.