US: US forces embarked on a fierce battle for control of the rebel Iraqi city of Falluja last night.
American planes and tanks were reported to be blasting certain parts of the city in what were described as "fierce clashes" between US forces and Iraqi rebels.
Falluja has been a centre of resistance to the US-led occupation of Iraq since the fall of Baghdad just over a year ago.
On March 31st, four US civilian contractors were attacked driving through the city, killed and their bodies mutilated. The atrocity outraged the US military which responded by laying siege to the city, demanding the rebels surrender.
Earlier yesterday, US forces killed dozens of Iraqi fighters near Najaf hours after Washington issued an ultimatum to a radical Shi'ite cleric to clear his militia from mosques in the holy city.
US officials said airborne gunships wiped out about 57 guerrillas in a single assault against a lone anti-aircraft gun spotted during clashes on the ground.
It was the bloodiest encounter since outspoken cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army militia launched a brief revolt against the US-led occupation three weeks ago. It may mark a new phase in American efforts to dislodge him from Najaf, where he has taken refuge among Islam's holiest Shi'ite shrines.
In all, US troops killed about 64 people in clashes on Monday near Kufa, 10 km from Najaf, Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt told a news conference in Baghdad.
Locals said aircraft had destroyed a militia checkpoint.
Brig Gen Kimmitt said guerrillas fired rocket-propelled grenades at a tank. Staff at two hospitals counted at least 23 dead and 34 wounded. Some of the casualties did not appear to be guerrillas.
At the funerals of five people killed, mourners chanted "Long live Sadr!" and slogans against the United States and its allies on Iraq's interim Governing Council.
Adding to the US burden, Spanish troops left Najaf and Iraq in a withdrawal ordered by the new government in Madrid, where opposition to the occupation runs high. Prime Minister Mr Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero said only support personnel were left in Iraq and the last of them would be gone by May 27th.
US troops, who make up the vast bulk of the 150,000-strong force in Iraq, have had to take the Spaniards' place in Najaf.
President Georgi Parvanov demanded Bulgaria's 450 troops be moved to safety away from the nearby holy city of Kerbala after his convoy was fired on when he visited them on Sunday.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Colin Powell told Reuters that US forces would have to keep wide powers after the handover, "which in some ways infringes on what some would call full sovereignty". - (Reuters)