WAR ON IRAK

Reuters: Grim Slaughter Of Iraqi Militia In US Advance Iraqi Bodies Litter Plain
NEAR NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Burned-out vehicles and incinerated bodies littered a plain in central Iraq on Sunday after U.S. forces overwhelmed Iraqi militia fighters in a battle south of the holy city of Najaf.

U.S. armored infantry and tanks took control of the plain in the early hours of Sunday after a battle of more than seven hours against Iraqi forces who were armed with machine guns mounted on the back of Japanese pick-up trucks.

Najaf lies just 100 miles south of Baghdad.

On the main road running across the plain, burned-out Iraqi vehicles were still smoldering on Sunday afternoon, and charred ribs were the only recognizable part of three melted bodies in a destroyed car lying in the roadside dust.