U.S. Forces Encircle Central Iraqi City of Najaf

The American 101st Airborne Division is also preparing for a possible incursion into the city to hunt for guerrilla fighters who have already attacked supply convoys and at least one military checkpoint.

Coalition forces have not said whether the move is to simply cordon off the city of 300,000 as forces continue north toward Baghdad or whether the troops will attempt to take the city.

U.S. troops said they were confident that could move into the city if called on by commanders to do so.

“This is our type of fight,” Command Sgt. Maj. Marvin Hill of the 101st told the Associated Press Sunday. “This is probably the most dangerous part of combat and that’s urban. Sometimes you don’t find out who the enemy is until they’re shooting at you.”

If troops do attempt to take the city, U.S. military planners face not only the challenges posed by urban combat, but they must do so in one of Islam’s holiest cities.

Najaf is the resting place of Imam Ali Ibn Abu Talib, the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law and Shiites’ most revered saint.

Ali’s shrine, in the heart of the city, is considered by many as one of the landmarks of Islamic art, with its silver-covered tomb, highly ornamented walls and golden dome.

The city itself is also the seat of Shiites’ spiritual leaders, or ayatollahs, and the center for academic and theological studies for the Islamic world. For the Shiite, it is the third most holy city in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

The city is so revered that it overlooks the world’s largest cemetery where Shiites hope to be buried.

But the city, one of the critical junctions on the march north towards Baghdad, has also been the scene of deadly and intense fighting. North of the city a U.S. military checkpoint was attacked by a suicide bomber Saturday, killing four soldiers.

Najaf also could serve as a base for militants loyal to Saddam Hussein to attack coalition supply lines as has been the case in Nasiriya to the south.

Officers with the 101st said all efforts were being made to make sure holy sites would not be targeted, except in self defense.

“We take our responsibility to these things very seriously and treat them with the utmost respect,” Capt. Micah Pharris, an attorney in the 101st Airborne’s judge advocate general’s office, told the AP.

Shiite clerics have also warned that any perceived attack on the holy sites in Najaf would provoke severe reactions.

“I don’t think that anyone dares to attack a holy site in Iraq. An attack on holy shrines will only provoke the uncontrolled anger of Muslims, especially Shiites, with serious consequences to the attackers,” Ibrahim Khalili, a prominent Iranian Shiite clergyman, said.

For now, the 101st has cordoned the city off and awaits further orders from Central Command. But senior military officials have told reporters that there are too many militants inside Najaf to ignore the city in the push north — planners must either leave troops around the city or move door-to-door to root out pro-Saddam militia members.