Fighting, artillery barrage rocks Iraqi shrine

U.S. marines and Shi'ite militiamen fought fierce battles around a shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Monday in some of the heaviest fighting since the 20-day-old rebellion erupted.

At least 15 explosions, many sounding like artillery shells, rocked the area near the Imam Ali mosque, where the Mehdi Army fighters of radical Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have holed up in defiance of the U.S.-backed interim government.

Gunfire echoed through the alleyways near the shrine while U.S. tanks kept up their encirclement around the city's heart.

Shrapnel landed in the courtyard of the gold-domed mosque, whose outer walls have already been slightly damaged in fighting that has killed hundreds and driven oil prices to record highs.

News that Iraq's crude exports were back to normal on Monday for the first time in two weeks could calm jittery oil markets. Exports had been sharply reduced due to sabotage and threats from militants.

Oil prices rose to nearly $50 a barrel last week but have since eased somewhat and U.S. light crude was trading around $47 a barrel on Monday.

Iraq resumed pumping crude along its northern pipeline, a shipping agent said. The pipeline has largely been shut since last year due to attacks, and only intermittently pumps oil.

The fighting around Iraq's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine eased for a time but then broke out again in the early afternoon, especially near an ancient cemetery that adjoins the mosque. Large plumes of smoke rose into the air.

Source: CD/Agencies