Iraqi civilians welcome U.S. troops in Najaf

Iraqi civilians welcome U.S. troops in Najaf

Karl Malakunas, Agence France-Presse, Near Najaf, Iraq

Hundreds of civilians welcomed U.S. troops who reached the Shiite
Muslim holy city of Najaf in central Iraq with "cheers and
waves", a military commander involved in the operation said on
Wednesday.

The commander of the 101st Airborne Division's Aviation
Brigade, Col. Greg Gass, said Najaf was becoming "more and more
secure" to U.S. forces after more than three days of combat for
control of the strategically important city.

"The big thing was the reaction from the civilian populace,"
Gass said. "We had civilians welcoming the soldiers yesterday,
clapping and waving and cheering them."

Gass said "hundreds" of local people had responded to the U.S.
military advance with warmth.

But it was impossible for AFP correspondents, who are based
outside Najaf, to immediately verify Gass's assertions.

Several hundred Iraqi soldiers or militiamen are reportedly
holed up near Ali's Tomb, the burial site of the Prophet
Mohammed's son-in-law, which is located in the heart of the town.

The tomb is sacred to Iraq's majority Shiite population, who
have been persecuted by President Saddam Hussein's predominantly
Sunni Muslim regime.

While not commenting on the reported threat near Ali's Tomb,
Gass said Najaf would never be completely secure of forces loyal
to Saddam.

"There are always going to be many threats as long as we are
here," he said. "It's a matter of days before it will be secure."

Gass earlier described the combat around Najaf on Sunday and
Monday as the heaviest that his forces had been involved in since
the start of the U.S.-led war on March 20.

Infantry troops and Kiowa Warrior helicopters from the 101st
have played the leading role in the battle for Najaf, along with
armored and mechanized support from the 3rd Infantry Division,
according to Gass.

Two 101st Black Hawk helicopters flew into Najaf's single-
strip airfield on Tuesday to deliver a small amount of
humanitarian aid as an initial step to try to win over the local
Shiite population and undermine Iraqi resistance.

However, those efforts appeared to be undermined the previous
day when U.S. soldiers manning a checkpoint close to the city
shot up a civilian vehicle that failed to stop on their command,
killing at least seven women and children.