Council flies to Najaf to talk to Al-Sadr

The delegation flew in on US helicopters from a three-day meeting in Baghdad where 1,300 delegates sought to select an interim national Assembly to oversee the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.

The conference, scheduled to end on Tuesday, was extended to Wednesday after many delegates opposed a list of 81 candidates presented to the meeting by the pro-US interim government, conference chairman Fouad Massoum said.

The remaining 19 members will come from the Governing Council, a 25-member body appointed by the US-led occupation before the June handover of power.

In Baghdad, insurgents fired a shell into a busy street, killing at least seven people including two children. The attack wounded 42 people.

Witnesses said British troops battled Shi’ite militiamen in Basra as darkness fell and at least one militiaman was killed. A British spokesman said he was checking the report.

Clashes also erupted overnight between the militia and US forces in Baghdad’s Sadr City. The Health Ministry said 14 people had been killed and 122 wounded here in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, the Najaf police chief threatened to storm the Imam Ali shrine if militiamen refused to disarm and leave.

‘‘Even if there are negotiations, the militiamen have to disarm and leave not just the shrine but the province,’’ said Ghalib Al-Jezairy. ‘‘We will storm the shrine and kill each one of them if they do not disarm.’’

Jazairi, who said his 80-year-old father was kidnapped from Basra, also said the Mehdi Army were increasingly targeting policemen in Najaf.