IRAQ: UPRISING

Stuff.nz: US threatens Falluja, Najaf

FALLUJA: US forces in Iraq threw down a gauntlet to fighters from both
main Muslim communities overnight, threatening imminent assaults on two key
towns if guerrillas do not accede to their demands.

US forces encircle both Najaf, the holiest Iraqi city for the Shi'ite
majority, and Falluja, where Sunni insurgents fought a bloody new round
in a three-week battle with US Marines. Eight guerrillas and a soldier
died and a mosque was damaged.

Loud explosions between Najaf and Kufa, 10km northeast, echoed through
the holy city last night after clashes between militiamen loyal to rebel
Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and US troops in the area, witness said