The commander of the 101st Airborne Divsion's Aviation Brigade, Colonel Greg Gass, told AFP US infantry, tanks and helicopters had met strong resistance in the city over the past three days but Iraqi soldiers now appeared to have given up their defence posts.

"I know they (US forces) have made quite a bit of headway in the past several days and it is coming very close to being secure," Gass said.

"It's a matter of days before it will be secure."

Gass said the US forces had seen a drastic drop in Iraqi resistance from within Najaf on Tuesday, one of many signs that indicated they were close to controlling the city.

"It looked like most of the equipment had been abandoned -- air defence systems, military trucks and vehicles," Gass said.

"Their (military) compounds had no people in there."

Najaf, 160 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Baghdad, is a key city in the US military push towards Baghdad because control of it would allow smoother supply and communication lines.

Gass said an equally important reason for controlling Najaf was because the city was a base for Iraqi military operations in central and southwest Iraq.

He said the 101st had been heavily involved in the Najaf campaign, sending infantry troops as well as Kiowa Warrior and Apache helicopters, with the 3rd Infantry Division supplying mechanised and armoured support.

SPACE.WIRE