More than 360 Iraqi Shiite militiamen and four US soldiers have been killed in Najaf in the last five days during their fighting between the multinational troops and militiamen, the US military said Monday.

"Since the fight broke out, four (American) soldiers of the multinational forces have been killed in Najaf and 19 wounded," a military spokesman said, adding "the estimated number of enemy (militiamen) killed in the fight as of now is more than 360."

The spokesman said four Iraqi national guards also died in the fight, while 12 others were wounded.

The spokesman said that the US troops were not targeting the rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Mehdi Army militiamen.

On Saturday, the US military had said 300 supporters of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had been killed, while the governor of Najaf Adnan al-Zarfi had put the figure at 400.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2004)