U.S. warns militia: Quit or die

Baghdad - U.S. forces have been using loudspeakers to urge militants to surrender and residents to evacuate battle zones in the holy city of Najaf, while authorities in Baghdad are bracing for more attacks.

Meanwhile, an explosion Wednesday in Diyala province north of Baghdad killed at least four people and wounded 11 others, an Iraqi Health Ministry official said.

The bomb went off around 10 a.m. (0600 GMT) in the town of Kan Banny Sa'ad.

In Najaf, Iraqi forces and U.S. Marines have been pounding fighters loyal to radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf.

U.S. military officials took advantage of a slight lull in fierce fighting on Tuesday to tell insurgents: lay down your arms or face death.

Al-Sadr's Mehdi militia and U.S. and Iraqi forces fought pitched battles earlier this year. But a shaky truce that began several weeks ago collapsed last week.

One day after al-Sadr vowed to fight American troops to the death, he issued a statement Tuesday saying he would welcome help from the United Nations in solving the crisis.

"I have no problem cooperating [with the U.N.]," the statement said. "We hope for this interference during these hard times to help us establish a world of peace and prosperity far away from wars and occupation."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Saturday the organization was "ready to extend its facilitating role to the current crisis."

The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit took over Monday as the lead multinational force in Najaf. Members of al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia are holed up in the city's Imam Ali Shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.

Adnan al-Zurufi, the governor of Najaf, gave permission Monday for military operations in the previously restricted area surrounding the shrine.

A senior U.S. commander said an estimated 2,000 militia fighters were in the shrine and the Wadi Al Salam cemetery, where Marines have been seizing weapons in its catacombs and mausoleums..

The commander estimated that more than 360 of al-Sadr's fighters have been killed since last week, when al-Zurufi asked multinational forces to put down the uprising.

The cemetery, which is about 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) long and 1.86 miles (3 kilometers) wide, has many caves and multistory mausoleum-type buildings.

Ali al-Yassiri, a political spokesman for al-Sadr, pleaded Tuesday for humanitarian and Islamic organizations to come to the battle-torn city.

"We call on all Islamic organizations to intervene right away to protect the holy land of Najaf and especially the Imam Ali Shrine," Yassiri said, accusing the Najaf police chief of "torturing all civilians by pulling out nails and teeth, the same way Saddam [Hussein] used to."

U.S. officials have accused al-Sadr of fomenting unrest. He is wanted by an Iraqi court in connection with the killing of a rival cleric last year.

Authorities are bracing for more attacks in Baghdad after a shadowy group in a pro-al-Sadr Baghdad enclave issued a threat on a taped video statement that it would hit government institutions.

The group warned civilian employees to stay home.

The tape, obtained on Monday by CNN, was shot in Sadr City by a previously unknown group calling itself the Brigades of Divine Anger.

The statement was issued after a roadside bomb rocked central Baghdad early Tuesday as a U.S. military convoy passed through the area, witnesses said. Two U.S. soldiers were injured in the blast near the Baghdad Hotel.

Militiamen loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr fight against coalition troops in Najaf Tuesday.

The video shows militants holding mortar launchers, mortar rounds and apparent rocket launchers.

The group listed areas that have been targeted in Baghdad in the past two days, including the so-called Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi ministries, some U.S. bases, two hotels and four police stations are located.

In addition to the casualties of fighting in Najaf, an Iraqi health official told CNN that 30 people have died while 219 have been wounded in battles across five provinces in the 24 hours ending at 9 a.m.(0100 ET). -- CNN News

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