The end game is approaching in the unholy city of Najaf: U.S. Marines Say Readying for Final Assault in Najaf.

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. marines said on Wednesday they were preparing a final assault on Iraqi Shi’ite militia in the holy city of Najaf, after a radical cleric ordered his men to keep fighting even if he was killed.

As a bloody showdown loomed between U.S. troops and militia loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr in Najaf, thousands of his supporters vented their anger against interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in the streets of Nassiriya and several other cities. …

The U.S. warning in Najaf came as sporadic clashes between American troops and Sadr’s Mehdi militia echoed from the heart of the southern city, where hundreds have been killed or wounded around some of Iraq’s holiest Shi’ite Muslim sites.

“Iraqi and U.S. forces are making final preparations as we get ready to finish this fight that the Moqtada militia started,” Colonel Anthony Haslam, commanding officer of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Najaf, said in a statement.

UPDATE at 8/11/04 10:15:24 am:

Or is it? U.S. Troops Postpone Offensive in Najaf.

Earlier Wednesday, the Marines said they were training Iraqi security forces in preparation to launch a major assault to root out the fighters. But later, a Marine commander said the offensive was postponed. No timeframe was given.

“Preparations to do the offensive are taking longer than initially anticipated,” U.S. Marine Maj. David Holahan. “It doesn’t matter now, they know we’re coming.”