Karbala: The US military today (May 23, 2004) said it killed 32 fighters loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in his stronghold of Kufa, and that Iraqi security forces were patrolling another holy Shiite city, Karbala, after reports that militiamen had left.

American tanks and troops conducted an overnight operation for the first time in Kufa, where al-Sadr routinely delivers a sermon at Friday prayers to thousands of supporters. The incursion was part of an effort to gradually weaken the militia of al-Sadr, a fierce opponent of the US-led occupation who launched an uprising against the coalition in early April.