Baghdad: About 20 militiamen loyal to firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr were killed today (May 6, 2004) during fighting in Kufa, near the holy Iraqi city of Najaf, a US military officer told CNN.

The militiamen were killed as Sadr's Mehdi Army were drawn out from their positions and engaged in fierce fighting with US troops armed with rocket-propelled grenades, said Lieutenant Colonel Pat White.

"It looks like we killed around 20," he said.