NAJAF, Iraq, Aug 4 (AFP) - Six Iraqi policemen have been kidnapped by militia loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, the governor of the southern city of Najaf said Wednesday.
"We warn against such acts and we will take action against this militia including legal action which we will announce shortly," warned Adnan al-Zorfi.
Police sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said that seven of their comrades had been missing since Tuesday and that two of had been kidnapped by Sadr's militiamen from their homes.
Police also said militiamen on Wednesday attacked a unit protecting the city's police chief as the men refueled their vehicles in the eastern Zahra neighbourhood, not far from Sadr's home.
The militiamen stole the officers' weapons before letting them go.
A spokesman for Sadr refused to comment on the kidnappings or attacks.
The stepped up tension comes just two days after clashes outside Sadr's home between his Mehdi militiamen and US troops left one civilian dead and nine others injured including six militiamen.
Sadr's office accused US troops of wanting to arrest the cleric, while the US military said a marine patrol was attacked by militiamen as it drove by.
Zorfi said no Iraqi forces had taken part in the clashes.
Sadr agreed to a truce in early June after leading a two-month rebellion against the US-led coalition that left hundreds dead.
Although the agreement allowed Iraqi police to restore its presence in Najaf, the area around the shrine of Imam Ali, a Sadr stronghold, remains off limits to them.
But the truce failed to address the fate of the Mehdi Army and the issue of an arrest warrant targeting Sadr in connection with the murder of a rival cleric last year.