BAGHDAD, Aug. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- US warplanes struck areas around ashrine early Friday in Najaf where radical Shi'ite militants are holed up, shortly after Moqtada al-Sadr defied a final call from Iraq's interim prime minister to surrender.

    US AC-130 gunships pounded repeatedly the sprawling complex of the Imam Ali mosque and loud explosions shook houses throughout Najaf, said witnesses.

    Large orange multiple flashes lit the sky, said the witnesses, adding that a cloud of smoke was rising from an ancient cemetery where Sadr militiamen have fought US troops for two weeks.

    Armored vehicles could be seen heading to the battle zone and heavy machine-gun fires echoed in the air of the holy city.

    DISARM OR SMASHED

    The "final call" for Sadr's militia to disarm came on Thursday,when Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi urged Sadr to accept the government demand and pull out of the Imam Ali Shrine.

    "This is the final call for them to disarm, vacate the holy shrine and engage in political work and take into account the interests of our homeland," Allawi told a news conference held in Baghdad.

    "We have heard that Mr Moqtada Sadr is prepared to accept the request of the government and national conference. We welcome it and confirm our readiness to accept this initiative of his, provided that he turns it into a visible position and gives a declaration himself," Allawi added.

    The prime minister, however, did not set a deadline for Sadr toquit the holy city, but said "we need to have a solution soon".

    Earlier, Iraqi Minister of State Qassem Dawoud said that an attack against militants loyal to Sadr in Najaf would be launched within hours unless Sadr meets demands laid down by the interim government.

    OIL PIPELINES SET ABLAZE BY SADR FOLLOWERS

    Sadr's followers in southern Iraq set oil pipelines near their homes on fire after the minister of state's attack threat.

    "After the so-called Iraqi minister of state declared the ultimatum, residents in southern Iraq, mainly in Basra and Amarah,have exploded several pipelines and are threatening to set on fireall the oil wells in the south," said Sheikh Aws al-Khafagi, head of the Sadr office in the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah.

    The Iraqi interim government has confirmed Khafagi's declaration.

    "Yes, some bad people attacked oil pipelines and torched oil wells in al-Halfaiyah oil fields in southern Iraq," Allawi told a news conference in Baghdad.

    "Iraq has lost 160 million US dollars during the past five days," Allawi said, "this is an evidence that those people are working against the benefit of the Iraqi people."

    He also said the Oil Ministry had adopted some measures to protect the county's oil infrastructure.

    Meanwhile, a mortar bomb hit the roof of the building housing the US embassy in Baghdad and at least one employee was injured.

    Witnesses said that a gray plume of smoke could be seen rising from the multistoried building, in which dozens of US diplomats work alongside officials of the US-led military coalition.

    UN BOMBING VICTIMS MOURNED

    When the Interim Government of Iraq was trying all out to pull the Mideast country out of continuous clashes and turbulence, UN Security Council on Thursday mourned its 22 staff killed on the same day one year ago in a deadly bombing attack in Iraq.

    "Members of the council together with the entire United Nationssystem commemorated today, one of the most tragic days in the history of the world organization," Council President Andrey Denisov said in a presidential statement.

    He noted that the 15-member council considers the tragedy as "an irreparable loss for the United Nations and for the international community."

    "It came as a result of the terrorist attack aimed at breaking the will of the international community, which came to Iraq with no other mission than to help its people regain control of their own destiny and build a better future of peace, justice, sovereignty and full independence," he said. Those who killed the UN staff members have committed a crime "not only against the United Nations but also against Iraq itself," he added.

    He strongly condemned the continuing terrorist attacks on the representatives of the international community working in Iraq, and pledged support for the UN personnel working now in Iraq "in spite of all the difficulties and dangers." Enditem