About 100 Shiite militiamen have been killed in overnight clashes in Baghdad and the holy city of Najaf.

The US military said about 30 people were killed in the Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Sadr , which is a stronghold of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Al-Sadr, who has led a six-week-long insurgency against the US-led occupation, is currently holed up in Najaf.