World Mar. 29, 2008 - 07:28AM JST ( 17 )

BASRA, Iraq —

U.S.-led coalition jets bombed Shiite militia positions in the southern city of Basra as prime minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday offered cash to local residents to hand in their guns.

More than 180 people have been been killed in clashes since Tuesday and new firefights broke out in Baghdad’s Sadr City and Kadhimiyah, strongholds of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army militia which Iraqi forces are battling in Basra and other regions.

Security and medical officials also reported fierce fighting in and around the southern city of Nasiriyah.

U.S. President George W Bush called the violence a “defining moment” for Iraq and a key test for Maliki’s government.

American-led coalition forces entered the fray for the first time since the Iraqi army launched its crackdown on Shiite fighters in Basra, by bombing the militia’s positions in the city, a British military spokesman said.

Two bombing missions were carried out overnight, Major Tom Holloway said.

“Coalition forces are providing capability in those niche areas that the Iraqi armed forces don’t have,” he said.

“Particularly we are providing them air power over the top of the city. The Iraqi air force does exist but doesn’t yet have fast jets. We are also providing surveillance.

“And also they have been providing air support in terms of dropping munitions on identified militia targets in the city.”

Maliki has vowed to pursue the crackdown against Shiite gunmen despite stiff resistance, protests from sympathizers and mounting casualties.

Bush said there had been progress in Iraq but “it’s still a dangerous, fragile situation,” adding that future troop deployment would be based on ensuring that Washington had “enough of a presence” to achieve success.

The crackdown focusing on areas controlled by Sadr’s Mahdi Army has severely strained a “freeze” of the militia’s activities that the radical cleric ordered last August.

Maliki gave Basra residents until April 8 to surrender heavy and medium weapons in a bid to cut the supply of weaponry to the militants.

The prime minister’s move was part of a three-pronged effort to break Shiite resistance, along with the imposition of a three-day curfew in Baghdad and precision bombing by the U.S.-led coalition.

Basra has become the theater for a turf war between the Mahdi Army and two rival Shiite factions—the powerful Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) of Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and the smaller Fadhila party.

“All those who have heavy and medium arms, they should surrender them to the security forces and receive money starting from March 28 until April 8,” Maliki told Basra residents in a statement issued by his Baghdad office.

Maliki adviser Sadeq al-Rikabi said that the offer was for all those who had weapons in their homes and was aimed to “take the arms away.”

“We confirm the objectives of the operation in Basra which is to chase illegal elements and to put all the weapons under the control of the law,” the Maliki statement said.

“These weapons create problems for civilians and their property. The government wants to give a chance to solve the problem without having to call upon the wrath of legal action.”

On Wednesday, Maliki announced a separate deadline of 72 hours for Shiite gunmen to surrender their weapons which was effective from Tuesday and ended on Friday.

In Baghdad most of the capital’s main roads were deserted as residents observed the curfew, due to be lifted at dawn on Sunday, while parliament held an emergency session attended by just 54 of its 275 MPs.

Even as Baghdadis observed the curfew, Iraqi and U.S. troops clashed with Shiite gunmen in parts of the capital, including Sadr City and Kadhimiyah.

At least 14 people were killed in Sadr City on Friday, including three children, medics said, while 17 people were killed in Kadhimiyah and other parts of Baghdad.

Mortar bombs also struck Baghdad’s Green Zone, hitting the offices of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi and parliament speaker Mahmud Mashhadani.

Two of Hashemi’s guards were killed and two of Mashhadani’s were wounded.

Since the Basra assault began, more than 180 people have been killed across Shiite areas.

Fighting has raged in other strongholds such as the central cities of Kut, Hilla and Nasiriyah, Iraqi and U.S. military officials said.

In and around Nasiriyah more than 35 people were killed on Friday, a medical official said.

Police in Hilla said they arrested 60 gunmen.

A U.S. soldier was killed south of Baghdad, taking the military’s death toll in Iraq to 4,005, according to independent website www.icasualties.org.

Wire reports