IRAQ U.S. helicopter crashes and burns

American troops are going after radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) -- A U.S. Apache helicopter crashed and was in flames on the ground today outside Fallujah after witnesses said it was hit by a rocket. In the south, hundreds of U.S. troops converging on Najaf for a showdown with a radical Shiite cleric came under an ambush that killed one soldier.
There was no immediate word on casualties from the crash of the helicopter, which an Associated Press reporter saw burning 12 miles east of Fallujah in the village of Zawbaa. Witnesses said they saw a rocket hit the craft.
U.S. troops who converged on the site were attacked by gunmen, the reporter said. Witnesses said four U.S. soldiers were hit.
Although Fallujah has been relatively calm for four days, the area between the besieged city and Baghdad has seen heavy clashes between gunmen and U.S. forces. Insurgents shot down another Apache on Sunday in nearby Abu Ghraib, killing its two crew members.
Before today's helicopter crash, a U.S. convoy was attacked near the same site, and two humvees and a truck were burning, said witnesses, who also reported U.S. casualties.
Deployed outside Najaf
Meanwhile, a large force of 2,500 U.S. troops backed by tanks and heavy artillery -- more than are besieging Fallujah -- deployed outside the city of Najaf today on a mission the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said aimed to "capture or kill" radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
On route to Najaf, the force's 80-vehicle convoy was ambushed Monday night by gunmen firing small arms and setting off roadside bombs north of the city. One soldier was killed and two soldiers and an American civilian contractor were wounded, officers in the convoy said.
Units set up a cordon on approaches to the city, barring militiamen from leaving.
Holy site
Iraqi leaders have launched hurried negotiations aimed at averting a U.S. assault on the city, site of the holiest Shiite site, the Imam Ali Shrine.
The commander of the force said his forces were aware that a "single shot in Najaf" by U.S. soldiers could outrage Iraq's powerful Shiite majority.
"Look at this as the Shiite Vatican," Col. Dana J. H. Pittard told reporters before the deployment.
In a concession to American demands, al-Sadr ordered his militiamen out of police stations and government buildings in Najaf and the nearby cities of Karbala and Kufa on Monday. Police were back in their stations and patrolling the streets, while al-Sadr's black-garbed gunmen largely stayed out of sight.
Ayatollahs' sons meet
The sons of Iraq's three grand ayatollahs -- including the most powerful one, Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani -- met al-Sadr Monday night in his Najaf office and assured him of their opposition to any U.S. strike.
"They agreed not to allow any hostile act against Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr and the city of Najaf," said a person who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The delegation from the grand ayatollahs was also reportedly trying to work out a compromise to prevent a U.S. attack.
The grand ayatollahs -- older, moderate leaders with immense influence among Shiites -- have long kept the young, fiercely anti-American al-Sadr at arm's length. The sending of the delegation reflected the eagerness to avoid bloodshed in Najaf and the new influence that the al-Mahdi Army's militia's uprising has brought al-Sadr.
Attacks on Spanish
Earlier today, al-Sadr militiamen based in the main mosque in the nearby city of Kufa opened fire on a passing patrol of Spanish forces, prompting a short exchange of fire.
Overnight, a mortar was fired at the Spanish base between Kufa and Najaf, and Spanish forces repelled a militia attack on a nearby water distillation plant.
The top U.S. military spokesman said about 70 Americans and 700 insurgents had been killed this month, the bloodiest since the fall of Baghdad a year ago with U.S.-led forces fighting on three fronts: against Sunni insurgents in Fallujah, Shiite militiamen in the south and gunmen in Baghdad and on its outskirts.
Death tolls
More than 600 Iraqis have been killed in Fallujah since the siege began April 5, said the head of the city hospital, Rafie al-Issawi. Most of the dead registered at hospitals and clinics were women, children and elderly, he said.
In all, about 880 Iraqis have been killed in the violence, according to an AP count based on statements by Iraqi hospital officials, U.S. military statements and Iraqi police.
Another toll from the week's violence: more than 40 foreigners reportedly were taken hostage by insurgents, though a dozen had been released Sunday and Monday.
Those still believed held included three Japanese and American truck driver Thomas Hamill, whose captors had threatened to kill them.
Some are freed
Eight Ukrainian and Russian employees of a Russian energy company who were kidnaped in Baghdad were freed today, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Seven Chinese were freed Monday after being held for a day, China's official news agency said. Two reportedly were injured.
Two U.S. soldiers and seven employees of a U.S. contractor, including Hamill, were missing after an attack Friday on a convoy west of Baghdad, Sanchez said.