NAJAF, Iraq - Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr vowed Monday not to leave this battle-torn city "until the last drop of my blood has been spilled" as U.S. and Iraqi forces tightened their chokehold on militants hiding out in one of Shiite Islam's most sacred shrines.
Najaf Gov. Adnan Zurfi said that after five days of fighting, U.S. and Iraqi forces were in control of the city except for the area around the golden-domed Imam Ali mosque. In an indication of the intensity of the battles, U.S. troops took "operational control" of Iraqi police and National Guard units in Najaf to improve coordination, a U.S. military spokesman said.
A senior U.S. military official said troops had cut off access to the shrine, where members of al-Sadr's al-Mahdi militia were holed up and launching attacks. Clashes with U.S. troops came within 800 yards of the holy site.
Each side blames the other for provoking the conflict, which shattered a fragile cease-fire declared in June, and both sides have vowed to battle to the finish.
"I will continue fighting," al-Sadr told reporters Monday, just two days after calling for restoration of the earlier truce. "I will remain in Najaf city until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."
The cleric said his militia was fighting to drive U.S. forces out of Iraq.
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