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Sadr Militia in Contacts to Hand Over Najaf Shrine
Fri Aug 20, 2004 04:23 AM ET
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Top aides of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr prepared to hand over control of a holy shrine at the center of a crisis in Najaf on Friday to representatives of Iraq's top ayatollah, a Sadr spokesman said.
"A delegation is meeting aides to (Grand Ayatollah Ali) al-Sistani now to hand over the keys to the Imam Ali Mosque," Sheikh Ali al-Sheibani said.
"Handing over the keys means handing over the administration of this international landmark to the religious authority. We will be ordinary people visiting it," he said.
Asked if that meant militiamen would leave the shrine, Sheibani said: "Any militiamen who wants to enter it will have to leave his weapon outside."
He said Sadr was still refusing to disarm his militia, the Mehdi Army, as demanded by the government to avert an all-out U.S.-led offensive to crush the rebels who have risen up in Najaf and at least seven other cities.
The militia has been running the Imam Ali shrine since an earlier uprising in April.
Iraqi Guardsman Ring Najaf Shrine
5 minutes ago
By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI, Associated Press Writer
NAJAF, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants in Najaf on Tuesday and Iraqi National Guardsmen surrounded the holy city's Imam Ali Shrine, where insurgents loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been holed up for weeks.
However, a raid into the shrine was not imminent, Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan told Al-Arabiya television.
Witnesses in Najaf said the Iraqi forces accompanied U.S. troops into the Old City for the first time in recent days on Tuesday and were stationed about 200 yards from the shrine. Clashes between militants and the combined U.S. and Iraqi forces rang out and plumes of black smoke rose above the city.
"Today, they complete the operation of encircling the shrine compound," Shaalan said.
Iraqi officials have said that any raid on the shrine would be conducted by Iraqi forces. The presence of U.S. troops at the holy site would infuriate the nation's Shiite majority.
The Iraqi troops will use loudspeakers to urge the militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to evacuate the shrine. These calls will continue "for a long time to give another humanitarian chance for them to surrender," he said.
"If they don't ... listen to reason, then certainly there will be a very simple operation, a very simple raid," he said. "The decisive hours are near."
...
Kathianne said:
Iraqi Forces Close in on Rebels in Shrine
1 hour, 7 minutes ago
By ABDUL HUSSEIN AL-OBEIDI, Associated Press Writer
NAJAF, Iraq - A Shiite insurgency appeared to be weakening Tuesday night as Iraqi forces moved to within 200 yards of the revered Imam Ali Shrine and Iraq (news - web sites)'s defense minister once again demanded fighters loyal to a radical cleric surrender or face a violent raid.
The militant force, which once waged fierce battles with U.S. troops throughout the Old City and Najaf's vast cemetery, seemed considerably diminished in number and less aggressive after days of U.S. airstrikes and relentless artillery pounding.
In Baghdad, assailants bombed the convoys of two government ministers in separate attacks that killed five people and a suicide bomber, but left the ministers unharmed, officials said.
Hundreds of insurgents have been spotted leaving Najaf in recent days, witnesses said. Those that remained appeared to have pulled back to the area around the shrine, where the fighting Tuesday was concentrated, U.S. troops said.
Police say radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has not been seen in public for days, has fled the city.
His aides, however, vigorously denied that, saying al-Sadr was in a secret hideout here. Regardless, the fiery, charismatic cleric's absence from the battlefield may have withered his followers' morale.
U.S. warplanes bombed the Old City late Tuesday for the third night in a row, witnesses reported. Huge blasts rumbled throughout the city for about 10 minutes followed by gunbattles and smaller explosions.
Kathianne said:His aides, however, vigorously denied that, saying al-Sadr was in a secret hideout here. Regardless, the fiery, charismatic cleric's absence from the battlefield may have withered his followers' morale.
Kathianne said:We hope, more likely, Tehran.
JIHADTHIS said:If that doughboy made it out of Najaf, the question would be how (Since we supposedly have the whole old city cordoned off.
Kathianne said:Earlier, only in the past 36 hours or so, has the condon been tight. He hasn't been seen for days!
Kathianne said:Earlier, only in the past 36 hours or so, has the condon been tight. He hasn't been seen for days!
