Karbala will be key battle

Senior US commanders are bracing themselves for their biggest battle yet on the road to Baghdad, at the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala.

A full Iraqi brigade of about 6,000 men, including tanks, has taken up position around the city 30 miles north of Najaf. Some are thought to be from the Medina division of the Republican Guard, loyal to President Saddam Hussein, and others are regular army troops.

The clash could come within the next 48 to 72 hours.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Grosskruger, of the 94th Engineers' Battalion, said: "Karbala is shaping up to be a key battle.

"It's being reinforced and it's fairly well defended."

The Iraqi forces are split between the west and east banks of the Euphrates river, 70 miles south of Baghdad.

American troops using tanks and artillery last night battled with an Iraqi force of about 1,500 men near Najaf. US military sources said they had no information on possible casualties in the clash, part of a pincer movement planning to head north along the west bank of the Euphrates river towards Baghdad.

Captain Alex Deraney, of the 535th Engineers' Company, said: "There were a lot of bangs and whistles, but everything seems to have been taken care of."

He said the Iraqi force, armed with artillery, were moving from a position north-east of Najaf when they were detected.

Three brigades of the US 3rd Infantry Division, totalling 15,000 men, are surging north towards Baghdad. Most of the first and second brigades are already near Najaf, while the third has been tackling Iraqi resistance farther south.

But the troops say they are running low on artillery shells and fuel and need more ammunition.

US marines are clearing the road north of Nasiriyah to make way for a huge military convoy needed for the expected decisive battle for Baghdad.

Karbala is the site of a battle 1,400 years ago in which Hussein, g randson of the prophet Mohammed, was overwhelmed and killed in a clash with a far larger and superior rival Muslim force.