Five civilians and an unknown number of Shi'ite militiamen were killed yesterday in clashes with American troops, the US military said, as fresh fighting rocked Najaf. Yesterday's clashes broke out as troops searched a school suspected of having been used by Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army members to launch mortar attacks. The search yielded three mortar tubes, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, a light anti-tank weapon, rifles, grenades and ammunition. A grouping of Shi'ite politicians and others have blamed US troops for the collapse of a truce agreed in Kufa. Last night, explosions shook the area near the vast cemetery in Najaf. In Baghdad, two Iraqis were killed and at least three wounded in a mortar attack near the Italian embassy, police said. None of the shells hit the embassy but one slammed into a nearby restaurant, killing two clients. Iraq's Shi'ite cleric Ali Al Sistani, meanwhile, endorsed the country's new government. He had voiced stern criticism of the now dissolved Governing Council and has repeatedly called for elections. **PHOTO CAPTION*** An Iraqi Shi'ite militiaman loads a rocket-propelled grenade into a launcher in the town of Kufa, just outside of Najaf June 2, 2004. (REUTERS)