Article: 101st Airborne inches deeper into Najaf, tries to avoid holy sites.

Byline: Kirsten Scharnberg

NAJAF, Iraq _ Diving from clear skies, U.S. attack helicopters swooped low over the rooftops of this central Iraq city on Tuesday, destroying buildings and homes used by Iraqi militia to shoot at American soldiers.

As they inched deeper into the heart of Najaf, the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne lobbed mortar and artillery rounds at Iraqi fighters, who returned fire with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Then the Iraqis suddenly retreated into the city's renowned, gold-domed Mosque of Ali. The American firepower chased them. And Col. Ben Hodges' heart caught in his throat.

"It looked like a ...

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