Members of Alpha Company 1st Battalion/4th Marines move through the streets of downtown Najaf, as the battle between U.S. and Sadr forces continued Tuesday. The Marines moved in closer to the city center. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
Bullet casings fly from a machine gun as U.S. forces fire on insurgents from a building in downtown Najaf. A battle between snipers on both sides went on for hours Tuesday, a rare experience for even veteran sharp shooters in the Marines. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
A member of Alpha Company dashes across an open area vulnerable to sniper fire coming from insurgents in a building in downtown Najaf. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
Members of Alpha Company 1st Battalion/4th Marines’s prepare to leave their position in a downtown building in Najaf. The Marines had taken the building after doing a nighttime sweep of the area in an attempt to engage the insurgents. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
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Members of Alpha Company 1st Battalion/4th Marines’s sniper unit fire on insurgents. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
A downtown building chipped away by gunfire offers a view of a Najaf mosque and the cemetary, the largest in the world, where fighting continues between U.S. forces and those loyal to Muktada al Sadr. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
A Marine wears facepaint during an operation in downtown Najaf. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
A Marine hit in the foot by sniper fire has it looked at by the unit medic inside a building near a gun battle between U.S. forces and those loyal to Sadr. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
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Snipers in downtown Najaf. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
Two members of Alpha Company 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, catch a few moments of rest after a night of duty. (Carolyn Cole / LAT)
