Fierce fighting erupts in Najaf, 7 other Iraqi cities

US troops and Shiite militiamen fought fierce battles in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf on Monday, just hours after political and religious leaders in Baghdad agreed to make a last-ditch appeal for peace. Broadening their uprising from the urban battlefield in Najaf and seven other cities, the Mehdi militia of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr set an oil well on fire in southern Iraq, the government said, sparking a jump in world oil prices. Iraqis meeting to pick an interim national assembly in Baghdad said they would send a delegation to Najaf to try to convince Sadr to end a conflict that has killed hundreds and undermined the authority of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. [more ]