US strike kills 15 Iraqis Meanwhile, Italy #39;s foreign minister, Franco Frattini, arrived in Kuwait on an 11th-hour mission to win the release of two Italian women hostages kidnapped by Islamist militants last week.
Tanks encircle shrine in US blitz on rebels UNITED States tanks today encircled the sacred Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf, after an intense bombardment of rebel positions overnight. 