Cleric vows to keep fighting

NAJAF, Iraq – Rogue cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Shiite militia has been battling U.S. forces across Iraq, warned Monday that he would fight “until the last drop of my blood has been spilled,” in his first appearance since the violence began.

Al-Sadr’s vow to keep fighting was a defiant challenge to Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who visited Najaf on Sunday and called on the Shiite militants to stop fighting.

“I will continue fighting,” the Shiite cleric told reporters in Najaf. “I will remain in Najaf city until the last drop of my blood has been spilled.

“Resistance will continue and increase day by day,” he said. “Our demand is for the American occupation to get out of Iraq. We want an independent, democratic, free country.”

The five-day-old uprising by al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army began to affect Iraq’s crucial oil industry, as pumping to the southern port of Basra – the country’s main export outlet – was halted because of militant threats, an official said.

President Bush said Monday that coalition forces were “making pretty good progress about stabilizing Najaf.”

In a sign of the deterioration of the situation in Najaf, the Polish military returned command in the province and neighboring Qadisiyah province to the U.S. Marines. The Poles had received command in the two provinces only 10 days ago.

Clashes intensified around Basra, where a British soldier was killed and several others wounded in fighting with militia near the cleric’s office Monday, the British Ministry of Defense said.

An insurgent group warned in a videotaped message it would launch a campaign of attacks on government offices in Baghdad, telling employees to stay away. Al-Sadr’s militants also kidnapped a top Baghdad police official and demanded that their comrades in detention be freed.

Meanwhile, two Jordanian and two Lebanese hostages, all truck drivers, were freed from captivity in Iraq on Monday, according to relatives.

Also Monday, the Army said it cannot determine whether a video that appeared to show a captured soldier being shot by militants was legitimate, and said the figure in the grainy video could have been a dummy made to look like a human being.

An Arab satellite station broadcast the video in June, reporting that the man being shot in the head was Spc. Keith M. Maupin, 21, who was captured when his convoy was attacked west of Baghdad.

U.S. military deaths

The latest identifications reported by the U.S. military of personnel who recently died in Iraq:

Marine Sgt. Yadir G. Reynoso, 27, of Wapato died Thursday and Marine Cpl. Roberto Abad, 22, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Friday from enemy action in Najaf; assigned to Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Army Pfc. Raymond J. Faulstich Jr., 24, Leonardtown, Md.; died Thursday in Najaf when small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades struck his convoy; assigned to the 89th Transportation Company, 6th Transportation Battalion, 7th Transportation Group; Fort Eustis, Va.

Army Spc. Joshua I. Bunch, 23, Hattiesburg, Miss.; died Friday in Baghdad when small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades struck his vehicle; assigned to the 91st Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division; Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Pfc. David L. Potter, 22, Johnson City, Tenn., died Saturday in Baghdad of noncombat related injuries; assigned to the 115th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division; Fort Hood, Texas.

Lance Cpl. Jonathan W. Collins, 19, of Crystal Lake, Ill., died Sunday from enemy action in Anbar province; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

U.S. military deaths

The latest identifications reported by the U.S. military of personnel who recently died in Iraq:

Army Pfc. David L. Potter, 22, Johnson City, Tenn., died Saturday in Baghdad of noncombat related injuries; assigned to the 115th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division; Fort Hood, Texas.