|
Localsâ relief as holy site is secured
They have destroyed the local Ba'ath party headquarters. They are gathering up crate after crate of captured weapons. Now, United States forces in Najaf revered by the world's Shiite Muslims have secured the gold-domed Ali mosque, still pristine and intact after three days of furious combat. Residents seemed to sense that something fundamental had shifted in their lives and that a grave threat to their religious heritage had fallen away. Thousands poured into the streets of this city of 500,000 on Wednesday, cheering a Humvee convoy carrying a US colonel — the warmest reception for US forces so far. Offering religious chants and salutes, 2000 to 3000 people greeted Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Hughes and his men.Although soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division have yet to fully seize Najaf, the city was secure enough for the division commander, Major-General David Petraeus, to plough through the southern districts in an armoured convoy. Residents who had been wary of the Americans — mindful that an uprising against Saddam Hussein's Sunni Muslim regime in 1991 had been brutally repressed after expected US support did not materialise — were pointing out minefields to US soldiers, commanders said. Najaf is home to the tomb and shrine of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad. US commanders said that before their forces secured the Ali mosque, they were shot at from the structure by Iraqi forces but did not return fire. Colonel Hughes paid his respects outside the mosque to the city's senior cleric, Ayatollah Said Ali al Sistani. The US incursion essentially freed Sistani from more than 15 years of house arrest imposed by Saddam's regime, Colonel Hughes said. The colonel said he assured Ayatollah Sistani that the Americans did not intend to harm Shiites or their religious sites. The ayatollah was overwhelmed by his abrupt change of circumstance, Colonel Hughes said. "He's kind of in shock as to really how to handle the responsibility of everybody looking up to him, asking him advice." This is the cleric who issued the fatwa supporting us. Posted by: Steve 2003-04-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=12399 |