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Fierce fighting erupts in Najaf
via Al Rooters - EFL
U.S. troops and Shi'ite militiamen have battled in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf only hours after political and religious leaders in Baghdad agreed to make a last-ditch appeal for peace. Broadening their uprising from the urban battlefield in Najaf and seven other cities, the Mehdi Army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr set an oil well on fire in southern Iraq, the government said on Monday. Iraqis meeting to pick an interim national assembly in Baghdad said they would send a delegation to Najaf to try to convince Sadr to end a conflict that has killed hundreds and failed to undermined the authority of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.Last minute hiccups with transport delayed departure of the delegation to Tuesday morning, officials said.
"Of course, sub-minister Mahmoud, we'll have you rolling to Najaf shortly."
["Tyrone, you pulled the ignition module on the Humvees?"]
["Yessir, LT, they ain't goin' nowhere."] |
In the heart of Najaf, U.S. forces backed by tanks exchanged fire with militiamen entrenched around the sacred Imam Ali Mosque and an ancient cemetery. Explosions boomed and the crackle of machinegun fire echoed across the city. The move to send the delegation came after the Najaf unrest again dominated the meeting in Baghdad where 1,300 political and religious leaders will select a 100-member assembly to oversee Allawi's interim government until elections in January. "We will deliver this urgent call from the national conference to Moqtada al-Sadr ... to try to solve this problem at its roots," said senior delegate Hussein al-Sadr, a distant relative but a political opponent of the firebrand cleric. The cleric would meet the delegation, an aide said. In New York, predominantly Shi'ite Muslim Iran asked the United Nations to help stop the bloodshed in Najaf. The Vatican said it was prepared to mediate in the fighting.
No Thanks. In fact...
Posted by: .com 2004-08-17 |
