Polish and Bulgarian troops battled Shiite militiamen in the Iraqi shrine city of Kerbala yesterday as US-led forces struggled to quell the worst violence since Saddam Hussein's fall a year ago.
Fighting raged for a fourth day between Sunni rebels and US Marines in Falluja, west of Baghdad, where the director of the main hospital said up to 300 Iraqis had been killed and at least 400 wounded since Sunday.
Townspeople were told by mosque loudspeakers to take their dead to a sports stadium for burial. Fighting has made it impossible to reach cemeteries on the town's outskirts.
Thousands of Sunni and Shiite protesters gathered outside the Um al-Qura mosque in Baghdad, chanting slogans in solidarity with people in Falluja, Kerbala and other conflict zones. Similar rallies took place in Mosul and Baquba, north of the capital.
"We will carry our swords and strike the Americans on their heads," a Sunni cleric yelled.
The US said it might keep combat-hardened troops in Iraq longer than planned to help tackle Sunni and Shiite insurgents trying to expel American-led occupiers.
This week's intense two-front fighting has killed 35 American and allied soldiers and several hundred Iraqis.
Polish and Bulgarian soldiers traded fire with Shiite Mehdi Army fighters in Kerbala.
"There was shooting all night," said Polish spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Strzelecki.
A health official, Mehdi al-Hasnawi, said four Iraqis had been killed and 16 wounded. Witnesses said the Mehdi Army was in control of the city. More clashes erupted later in the day.
Hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims, including many from Iran, have converged on Kerbala for Arbain, a major religious occasion that reaches its climax this weekend.
The Mehdi Army militia led by firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr swept onto the streets of Shiite cities across Iraq this week, clashing frequently with US-led troops.
An aide to Sadr reiterated a claim that the militia had captured several foreign troops, including Americans, and offered to exchange them for captured militiamen. A US commander denied any foreign troops had been captured in Najaf.
In Falluja, hospital director Rafi Hayat said between 280 to 300 Iraqis had been killed and at least 400 wounded in fighting this week as US Marines mounted a major mission to root out guerrillas in the town.
The Marines launched a big crackdown in the city after last week's killing and mutilation of four US private security guards there. Twelve Marines were killed in a guerrilla attack on Tuesday in the town of Ramadi, also engulfed in fighting.
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