Saboteurs blow up Basra oil pipeline

Saboteurs yesterday blew up one of Iraq's two main oil export pipelines from Basra, cutting at least a third of the exports from the city which provides 80 per cent of government revenue, while US-backed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed that his security forces would battle Shi'ite militia in Basra "to the end" despite thousands of protesters marching to demand his resignation.

Mehdi Army fighters loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr remained in control of streets of Basra, Iraq's second biggest city and main oil hub, defying a three-day government offensive that has led to violence spreading across the south and Baghdad.

Mr Maliki, who has travelled to Basra to oversee the crackdown, told tribal leaders it was sending "a message to all gangs that the state is in charge of the country".

"We entered this battle with determination and we will continue to the end. No retreat. No talks. No negotiations."

More than 130 people have been killed and hundreds wounded since the government launched its operation on Tuesday, exposing deep divisions between powerful factions within Iraq's majority Shi'ite community.

The clashes have all but wrecked a truce declared last August by Cleric Sadr, which Washington had said helped curb violence.

The government says it is fighting "outlaws", but Cleric Sadr's followers say political parties in Mr Maliki's government are using military force to marginalise their rivals ahead of local elections due by October.

Tens of thousands of Cleric Sadr supporters marched in Baghdad in a massive show of force for him, demanding Mr Maliki's ouster. In the vast Sadr City slum named after the cleric's slain father crowds of angry men jammed the main circle chanting slogans.

The slum of two million people has been locked in a virtual state of siege.

"We are trapped in our homes with no water or electricity since yesterday. We can't bathe our children or wash our clothes," said a resident who gave his name as Mohammed.