Fresh clashes leave five Iraqis dead in Kufa

American troops clashed yesterday with Shiite militants in fighting that persists six days after a truce was supposed to have taken effect. At least five Iraqis were killed and nearly 40 others were injured.

One more Iraqi was killed and three others were injured as militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr exchanged gunfire with American soldiers yesterday in the Baghdad suburb Sadr City.

There were no American casualties reported either in Kufa or Sadr City.

West of the capital, Sunni insurgents fired mortars at a police stations near the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah, killing an Iraqi civilian and wounding three people, including an American Marine.

Clashes have rocked Kufa nearly every day since Shiite leaders announced an agreement by Al Sadr last Thursday to end a two-month-old standoff with the Americans here and in nearby Najaf.

Skirmishes broke out yesterday morning as US tanks and Humvees rolled into the center of the city, sending terrified civilians fleeing for cover. Gunfire rattled through the largely deserted streets as Shiite militiamen took positions near the mosque, where gunbattles have raged in past days.

Five people were killed in the fighting, hospital sources said. In skirmishes lasting about an hour, two militiamen were injured, fighters said.

Near sunset, several strong explosions and bursts of gunfire resounded through Kufa.

Shiite negotiators, frustrated over the lack of progress, blamed coalition forces for a "clear violation" of the ceasefire agreement.

"What's going on now is targeting the people of holy Najaf who have gone out to the streets, optimistic," the statement said.