Al-Sadr reported wounded

NAJAF, Iraq — Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has been wounded in fighting between his followers and U.S. and Iraqi forces in the holy city of Najaf, his spokesman said Friday.

Al-Sadr is believed to be holed up in Najaf's sacred compound housing the Imam Ali shrine, along with his loyalists. He has led an uprising against coalition troops for more than a week in the city, vowing to fight "until the last drop of my blood has been spilled."

Aide Ahmed al-Shaibany said al-Sadr was wounded in three places during the clashes, but didn't say if the wounds were serious. He said al-Sadr was hurt during shelling.

U.S. and Iraqi troops have formed a perimeter around the compound, but have so far made no move to raid it, concerned about touching off an outcry from the Muslim world about desecrating one of Islam's most revered sites.

Another al-Sadr aide, Abdel Hadi al-Daraji, called on Iraqis to demonstrate Friday near the Green Zone in Baghdad, the location of most Iraqi government ministries, as well as the U.S. and British embassies, to protest against the fighting in Najaf.

On Thursday U.S. troops stormed al-Sadr's house in Najaf, only to find it empty.

Al-Sadr's fighters have battled coalition forces since Aug. 5 in a resurgence of a spring uprising that was dormant for two months following a series of truces.