"Long live Sadr, America and Allawi are infidels," thousands of protesters in Basra chanted. A similar protest took place in Baghdad's Shiite neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah.
A photographer said he had seen dozens of dead militiamen in civilian houses in Najaf. He said the bodies had been taken from the battle zone and covered in ice to preserve them before burial. It was unclear when they had been killed.
Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, who is in London undergoing medical treatment, called for the holy city of Najaf, his hometown, to be respected, an aide said.
"Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is pained and very sad about what is happening in holy Najaf," Murtada al-Kashmiri told reporters.
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