BAGHDAD, May 5: Three US soldiers were killed in the Iraqi town of Diwaniya on Tuesday night during clashes with the militia loyal to Shia leader Moqtada al Sadr.

The military said in a statement that the US troops were attacking two buildings in the town south of Baghdad used by Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army to assault occupation forces when the soldiers were killed.

The operation also included a raid on a building housing Sadr's office and an adjacent building by soldiers from the 1st Armored Division and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, the statement said.

At least 23 Iraqis were also killed as fighting flared again in Najaf and Karbala, besides Diwaniya, between the Mehdi Army and occupation troops who raided the militia's offices.

Nine militiamen were killed in clashes in Diwaniya and several others injured, according to a spokesman for Moqtada Sadr. Five civilians were also killed in the fighting around the office, hospital sources said.

Violence also ripped Karbala, where Polish troops took over several buildings occupied by the Mehdi Army. Ten militiamen were killed along with one Polish soldier.

Polish forces, which command a multinational force in Karbala, started distributing leaflets on Tuesday warning they would conduct nightly patrols to disarm Sadr's followers.

Fresh clashes broke out in the holy city of Najaf, where Sadr has dug in with thousands of armed followers, but there were no casualties. More than 30 people have been killed in fighting between occupation troops and Sadr's followers since Monday, after the radical leader vowed to lead his men to "martyrdom".

"We want you to be more vigilant and more disciplined and, God willing, I'm leading you to martyrdom," Sadr told thousands of followers in a mosque near Najaf. Moqtada Sadr, the scion of an illustrious religious family, is wanted for the murder of a rival last year, but has issued dire threats against US troops camped around Najaf where he has been holed up for a month.

Following the resistance in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, and continued clashes around Najaf, US Secretary State Colin Powell said on Tuesday he was "surprised" by the intensity of the fighting.

Defence Secretary Rumsfeld announced plans Tuesday to maintain a force of about 138,000 troops in Iraq through next year, and ordered the deployment of 10,000 combat troops to replace units serving extended tours of duty. -Reuters/AFP