US battles militia in Iraqi city

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US and Iraqi troops have been engaged in a second day of fierce fighting with Shia militias they are trying to oust from the central city of Diwaniya.

The fighting is part of an operation to extend the recent security drive beyond Baghdad to other parts of the country.

Jets and tanks have been supporting ground troops in the offensive against militiamen loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

At least four civilians have been killed, medical sources said.

'Terrorising residents'

US and Iraqi forces launched Operation Black Eagle at dawn on Friday on Diwaniya, 180km (110 miles) south of Baghdad.

A curfew was imposed and leaflets were dropped telling residents not to go out.

At least one fixed-wing air strike has supported tanks and troops engaged in close-quarter fighting, with militias responding with rocket-propelled grenades.

US military spokesman Lt-Col Scott Bleichwehl said one person was killed in the air strike on a hostile target "initiated by a tip that was called in by a local citizen".

Col Michael Garrett of the 4th Brigade Combat Team said three US soldiers had been injured so far in the clashes and that two Humvees had been destroyed.

Iraqi sources reported fighting in Salim Street and the southern districts of Nahda and Wahda.

Up to 30,000 new US troops have been assigned to Iraq for the security crackdown on militias, which began two months ago.

Diwaniya has seen many clashes between militias and security forces over the past year.

BBC world affairs correspondent Jonathan Charles in Baghdad says the US now believes Moqtada al-Sadr is a bigger threat to the stability of Iraq than Sunni insurgents.

Our correspondent says Moqtada al-Sadr's men are accused of terrorising residents in Diwaniya, killing many, including women who are said to have offended their interpretation of Islamic morality.

The US is also making it clear that this will not be the last city to see such action, he says.