U.S. strikes positions of militia

Fighting was heavy in Karbala, Najaf and Kufa.
KARBALA, Iraq (AP) -- American AC-130 gunships and tanks pounded militia positions early today near two shrines in the center of the holy city of Karbala, and the U.S. military said it killed 18 fighters loyal to a rebel cleric. Hospital officials said the dead included two Iranian pilgrims.
U.S. forces withdrew from a mosque in the city center that had been used by insurgents as a base of operations, but said patrols in the city would continue.
Fighting between American forces and cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia was also heavy in Najaf and neighboring Kufa, south of Baghdad. Explosions rocked the center of Najaf, near local government buildings, and Friday prayers were canceled because of the violence. A huge fire blazed in a vegetable market.
Attack on tanks
The fighting in Karbala started after insurgents fired several rocket-propelled grenades at U.S. tanks that were patrolling on the outskirts of the so-called "Old City," a maze of alleyways and cluttered buildings, said U.S. Army Col. Pete Mansoor of the 1st Armored Division.
The tanks returned fire, and more than two hours of heavy fighting followed. Smoke billowed from burning buildings. Explosions lighted up the night sky and reverberated throughout the city. Electric lights flickered on and off. By 3 a.m., the fighting had stopped.
Much of the fighting was near the city's Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas shrines, which U.S. forces allege are being used by militiamen as firing positions or protective cover. Mansoor said the shrines were not damaged.
In other developments today:
UIraqi insurgents captured a Spanish National Radio reporter in Najaf, the station said. Correspondent Fran Sevilla reported this morning on the withdrawal of Spanish troops from another city, Diwaniya, and was seized when he traveled to Najaf to report on a sermon by al-Sadr, station news director Javier Arenas said.
UAmerican troops detained a representative of al-Sadr in the northern city of Kirkuk, an Iraqi commander said today.
Sheik Anwar al-Jinani was arrested at a mosque Thursday night, said Maj. Gen. Anwar Mohammed Amin of the U.S.-backed Iraqi Civil Defense Corps.
Ten supporters of al-Sadr were also arrested.