U.S. warplanes pounded areas near a shrine where radical Shi’ite militiamen were holed up early Friday after their leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, defied a final demand from Iraq’s interim prime minister to disarm. U.S. AC-130 gunships struck repeatedly at positions held by Sadr’s Mehdi Army fighters, who have sheltered in and near the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, sacred to Shi’ites around the world. Helicopter gunships also pounded targets near the mosque, and orange flashes and white sparks lit the night sky above the city. Full Story