Sistani urges US forces to leave Najaf & Kerbala

It was the most clear-cut statement on the issue from Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shia authority, since militiamen loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr launched an uprising against the US-led occupation in April.

"It's permissible...to demand the withdrawal of all military vestiges from the two cities and allow the police and tribal forces to perform their role in preserving security and order," Sistani said in a rare statement released by his office in Najaf.

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US forces and followers of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia have fought pitched battles in the streets of Najaf and Kerbala over the past week, often fighting close to some of Shia Muslims' holiest shrines.

Sadr's followers, in sermons at mosques across southern, Shia dominated Iraq, have urged Shias to converge on Najaf and Kerbala to defend the cities against US forces.

But Sistani said in his statement it was too dangerous and Shi'ites should instead demonstrate in their hometowns against the presence of all military bodies in the cities.

"The office of Ayatollah Sistani calls on citizens in all of the cities and governorates not to head to holy Najaf due to the dangerous circumstances that the holy city is passing through," the statement said.

Instead, it said, gatherings should be organized in mosques and provinces around the country, "to protest violations of the sanctity of the two holy cities."

Sources in Sistani's office said the statement was aimed mostly at Sadr's militia, which has been accused of attacking US forces from inside mosques, including the Imam Hussein mosque in Kerbala, one of Shia Muslims' holiest shrines.

AFP adds: Two US soldiers were killed in fighting in the restive al-Anbar province, in western Iraq, the military said yesterday.

Meanwhile, fighters loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr attacked a US base on the edge of the holy Iraqi city of Najaf yesterday with mortar bombs, witnesses said.

Two US tanks stationed around the main police station, some two km (one mile) from some of the holiest shrines for Shia Muslims, moved toward the base and were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades, the witnesses said.