US marines say they have killed 300 fighters loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in fierce clashes in Southern Iraq over the past 48 hours. A spokesman for Muslim cleric disputed the figures saying 36 militiamen had been killed in several Iraqi cities.
Late this evening, Sadr's stronghold, Najaf - the scene of the bitterest clashes - was quiet.
The new round of fighting marks a major challenge for US-backed Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and appears to have destroyed a two-month-old ceasefire between US forces and Sadr's Mehdi militia.
Lieut Col Gary Johnston, operations officer for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said 300 enemy fighters had been killed while two marines died and were 12 wounded.
He told reporters that the Mehdi fighters were badly coordinated and shot at random against the heavily armed marines who were backed up by F-16 fighter jets, AC-130 gunships and
helicopters.
The US-appointed governor of Najaf said he had information 80 Iranians were fighting alongside Sadr's militia, whom he ordered to leave the city in 24 hours.
Tension had been rising in Najaf since Iraqi security forces surrounded Sadr's house earlier this week. But US officials said fighting escalated when marines came to the aid of badly outgunned Iraqi police who were attacked by insurgents wielding heavy weapons early yesterday.
British and Italian troops also fought the Mehdi militia across Shi'ite-dominated southern Iraq - in Basra, Amara and Nassiriya - while fighting raged in Sadr City and Shoula, two
Shi'ite districts of Baghdad.
The Health Ministry said fighting in Sadr City alone had killed 20 Iraqis and wounded 114 since early yesterday, while in Nassiriya six were dead and 13 wounded.
The Italian military said it had reached a ceasefire agreement with Mehdi militants in Nassiriya.
Sadr today again reiterated his offer of a ceasefire. His spokesman in Baghdad said: "We have no objections to entering negotiations to solve this crisis ... in the name of Sayed Sadr, we want a resumption of the truce."