Sadr says US will always be enemy

enemy

Moqtada Sadr lost a key aide on Friday, shot dead in Najaf

Radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has said the US will always be his enemy "till the last drop of blood".

Mr Sadr was responding to a statement by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who said that all those within the political process were not enemies.

"I have no enemy but you. You are the occupier," Mr Sadr's statement said.

Iraqi forces have been clashing with militias such as Mr Sadr's Medhi Army since last month. The US said 13 gunmen were killed in Baghdad on Saturday.

The latest fighting was in Baghdad's eastern Sadr City suburb, a stronghold of supporters of Moqtada Sadr.

On Friday, Riyad al-Nuri, a relative and key aide of the cleric, was killed by gunmen in the city of Najaf

Which political process do you want to involve me in when you are occupying my land? Moqtada Sadr

The cleric blamed the US "occupation" for Mr Nuri's death. In his statement on Saturday, Moqtada Sadr said: "I heard the statement of the terrorist American defence minister and I feel compelled to give a decent response to such a terrorist. I have no enemy but you. You are the occupier."

At the Pentagon on Friday, Mr Gates referred to Mr Sadr as a "a significant political figure". BBC