The Supreme Assembly of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SAIRI), in a statement, accused the Iraqi regime of positioning its troops in and around holy sites to draw US fire, incidents which it could then use to inflame Islamic sentiment.

The Iran-based Shiite group said that over the past few days their sources have seen Iraqi forces taking up positions inside the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf and firing at US troops.

SAIRI called on "Muslims, religious leaders and international organizations charged with protecting religious and historical sites" to help stop the attempts by Iraq "to endanger the sites".

On Wednesday, Iraqi Information Minister, Mohammad Saeed Al-Sahhaf accused the coalition of trying to destroy the tombs of imams Ali and Hussein in Najaf and Karbala by sending warplanes screeching low over the holy sites.

The US military for its part accused Iraqi forces of firing on coalition forces from Najaf's Ali mosque, saying that units from the US Army 5th Corps were refusing to return fire.

SPACE.WIRE